INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC DACTYLOSCOPY

Oftentimes, fingerprints were taken for granted, but are essential to criminal
investigation. Locating and preserving fingerprints is one of the most important responsibilities
of crime scene specialist when processing the crime scene. In order to fully understand the
importance or fingerprints as a means of identifying person, it is necessary to have a basic
understanding about fingerprint identification.

What is a Fingerprint?
Fingerprints are:
 Ridges and valleys known as papillary ridges found on the hand of every person;
 Situated at the palmar surface of the human hand;
 Minute ridges which are studded with sweat pores;
 Friction ridges which are the result of the joining together of these protruded sweat
pores; and
 Exact reproduction of the papillary ridges on the top of the phalange of fingers and
thumbs, these ridges form patterns of loops, whorls and arches.

All fingers, toes, feet and palms are covered in small ridges which helps us grip on
objects. When the ridges press against things they leave a mark, an impression called a
fingerprint. The impression consists of secretions from the sweat glands in the skin (combination
of water, oil, and salts) and dirt from everyday activities.

As an IMPRESSION: It is the reproduction of pattern or design formed by the ridges on smooth

surface of the end joint by the fingers or thumb, through the medium of ink or any coloring
substance capable of producing visibility.

As a SCIENCE: It is the identification of person by means of the ridges appearing on the

fingers, on the palms and on the soles of the feet.

What is Dactyloscopy?

Dactyloscopy is the scientific study of fingerprinting. A fingerprint is the impression of

the friction ridges found on the surface of the fingers or thumbs. Fingerprint identification is
based upon the distinctive ridge outlines that appear on the bulbs on the inside of the end joints
of the fingers and thumbs. No two persons have identical fingerprints, making fingerprints the
primary method of establishing a person’s identity.

HISTORY OF FINGERPRINTING

Prehistoric - Ancient artifacts with carvings similar to friction ridge skin have been discovered in
many places throughout the world. Prehistoric picture writing of a hand with ridge patterns was
discovered on a cliff in Nova Scotia. In ancient Babylon, fingerprints were used on clay tablets
for business transactions.

BC 200s (China) - Chinese records from the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) include details about
using handprints as evidence during burglary investigations.

Clay seals bearing friction ridge impressions were used during both the Qin and Han
Dynasties (221 BC - 220 AD).

AD 1400s (Persia) - The 14th century Persian book "Jaamehol-Tawarikh" (Universal History),
attributed to Khajeh Rashiduddin Fazlollah Hamadani (1247-1318), includes comments about
the practice of identifying persons from their fingerprints.

Dr. Nehemiah Grew (1684) – First European to publish friction ridge skin observations in his
paper entitled “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London”.

Govard Bidloo (1685) – A Dutch anatomist who published the book “Anatomy of the Human
Body” which includes descriptions of the ridge skin (papillary ridge) details.
Marcelo Malpighi (1686) – An anatomy professor at the University of Bologna who noted
fingerprint ridges, spirals and loops in his treatise. A layer of skin was named after him, the
"Malpighi" layer, which is approximately 1.8 mm thick.

Johann Cristoph Andreas Mayer (1788) - German anatomist Johann Christoph Andreas
Mayer authored the book "Anatomical Copper-plates with Appropriate Explanations" containing
drawings of friction ridge skin patterns (the original title in German was "Anatomische
Kupfertafeln nebst dazu gehörigen Erklärungen"). Mayer wrote, "Although the arrangement of
skin ridges is never duplicated in two persons, nevertheless the similarities are closer among
some individuals. In others the differences are marked, yet in spite of their peculiarities of
arrangement all have a certain likeness" (Cummins and Midlo, 1943, pages 12-13). Mayer was
the first to declare friction ridge skin is unique.

Jan Evangelista Purkinje (1823) – An anatomy professor at the University of Breslau in

Wrocław, Poland, published his thesis discussing nine fingerprint patterns. Purkinje made no
mention of the value of fingerprints for personal identification. Purkinje is referred to in most
English language publications as John Evangelist Purkinje.

Hermann Welcker (1856) - German anthropologist of the University of Halle, studied friction
ridge skin permanence by printing his own right hand in 1856 and again in 1897, then published
a study in 1898.

Sir William James Herschel (1858) - The English began using fingerprints in July 1858 when
Sir William James Herschel, Chief Magistrate of the Hooghly District in Jungipoor, India, first
used fingerprints on native contracts. On a whim, and without thought toward personal
identification, Herschel had Rajyadhar Konai, a local businessman, impress his hand print on a
contract. Jungipoor is now know as Jangipur in the state of West Bengal.

The purpose of the hand print was to "... to frighten [him] out of all thought of
repudiating his signature." The native was suitably impressed and Herschel made a habit of
requiring palm prints--and later, simply the prints of the right Index and middle fingers--on every
contract made with the locals. Personal contact with the document, they believed, made the
contract more binding than if they simply signed it. Thus, the first wide-scale, modern-day use of
fingerprints was predicated not upon scientific evidence, but upon superstitious beliefs.

However, as Herschel's fingerprint collection grew, he began to realize the inked

impressions could, indeed, prove or disprove identity. While his experience with fingerprinting
was admittedly limited, Sir William Herschel's private conviction that all fingerprints were unique
to the individual, as well as permanent throughout that individual's life, inspired him to expand
their use.

Professor Paul-Jean Coulier (1863) - Professor Paul-Jean Coulier, of Val-de-Grâce in Paris,

published his observations that (latent) fingerprints can be developed on paper by iodine
fuming, explaining how to preserve (fix) such developed impressions and mentioning the
potential for identifying suspects' fingerprints by use of a magnifying glass.

Thomas Taylor (1877) - American microscopist Thomas Taylor proposed that finger and palm
prints left on any object might be used to solve crimes. The July 1877 issue of The American
Journal of Microscopy and Popular Science included the following description of a lecture by
Taylor:

Hand Marks Under the Microscope. - In a recent lecture, Mr. Thomas Taylor,
microscopist to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., exhibited on a screen & view
of the markings on the palms of the hands and the tips of the fingers, and called attention to the
possibility of identifying criminals, especially murderers, by comparing the marks of the hands
left upon any object with impressions in wax taken from the hands of suspected persons. In the
case of murderers, the marks of bloody hands would present a very favorable opportunity. This
is a new system of palmistry.

Dr. Henry Faulds (19870s-1880) - During the 1870s, Dr. Henry Faulds, the British Surgeon-
Superintendent of Tsukiji Hospital in Tokyo, Japan, took up the study of "skin-furrows" after
noticing finger marks on specimens of "prehistoric" pottery. A learned and industrious man,
Faulds not only recognized the importance of fingerprints as a means of identification, but
devised a method of classification as well. Dr. Faulds' clinic in Tokyo eventually became St.
Luke's International Hospital.

In 1880, Faulds forwarded an explanation of his classification system and a sample

of the forms he had designed for recording inked impressions, to Sir Charles Darwin. Darwin, in
advanced age and ill health, informed Dr. Faulds he could be of no assistance to him, but
promised to pass the materials on to his cousin, Francis Galton.

Also in 1880, Faulds published an article in the Scientific Journal, "Nature" (nature).
He discussed fingerprints as a means of personal identification, and the use of printer's ink as a
method for recording such fingerprints. He is also credited with the first latent print identification
- a greasy fingerprint deposited on an alcohol bottle.

Gilbert Thompson (1882) - In 1882, Gilbert Thompson of the U.S. Geological Survey in New
Mexico, used his own thumb print on a document to help prevent forgery. This is the first known
use of fingerprints in the United States.

Alphonse Bertillon (1882) - Alphonse Bertillon, a clerk in the Prefecture of Police of at Paris,
France, devised a system of classification, known as anthropometry or the Bertillon System,
using measurements of parts of the body. Bertillon's system included measurements such as
head length, head width, length of the middle finger, length of the left foot; and length of the
forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. Bertillon also established a system of
photographing faces - which became known as mugshots.

In 1888 Bertillon was made Chief of the newly created Department of Judicial Identity
where he used anthropometry as the primary means of identification. He later introduced
Fingerprints, but relegated them to a secondary role in the category of special marks.

Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) (1883) - A murderer was identified using fingerprint
identification in Mark Twain's book "Life on the Mississippi." A dramatic court trial, including
fingerprint identification, was depicted in a later book, "The Tragedy of Pudd'n Head Wilson."
This book was adapted into a movie in 1916, and a made-for-TV movie in 1984.

Sir Francis Galton (1888) - British anthropologist and a cousin of Charles Darwin, began his
observations of fingerprints as a means of identification in the 1880's.

Juan Vucetich (1891) - An Argentine Police Official, began the first fingerprint files based on
Galton pattern types. At first, Vucetich included the Bertillon System with the files.

Inspector Eduardo Alvarez (1892) - At Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1892, Inspector Eduardo
Alvarez made the first criminal fingerprint identification. He was able to identify Francisca Rojas,
a woman who murdered her two sons and cut her own throat in an attempt to place blame on
another. Her bloody print was left on a door post, proving her presence at the scene of the
murder. Alvarez was trained by Juan Vucetich.

Francis Galton (1892) - Sir Francis Galton published his book, "Finger Prints" in 1892,
establishing the individuality and permanence of fingerprints. The book included the first
published classification system for fingerprints. In 1893, Galton published the book
"Decipherment of Blurred Finger Prints," and in 1895 published the book "Fingerprint
Directories."
 Galton's interest in fingerprints included assistance for his research into Eugenics.
Eugenics focused on manipulating heredity or breeding to produce better people and on
eliminating those considered biologically inferior.

While Galton soon discovered fingerprints were of no help to his genetic research
(fingerprints offered no firm clues to an individual's intelligence or genetic history), he was able
to scientifically prove what Herschel and Faulds already believed:

(1) Except for injury or disease, fingerprint ridge arrangements do not change over the course of
an individual's lifetime; and

(2) No two fingerprints are exactly the same.

According to Galton's calculations, the odds of two individual fingerprints being the
same were 1 in 64 billion. He named the characteristics by which fingerprints can be identified.
Most Galton Detail terms describing friction ridge skin and impression features have been
abandoned in modern forensic science terminology.

Dr. Ralph Hodgson (1896) - On 8 May 1896, Dr. Ralph Hodgson gave a lecture on the value of
fingerprint identification at the Sydney School of Arts in Sydney, Australia. The lecture included
discussion of the great value of fingerprints and also the limited adoption of fingerprint records
for identification by worldwide agencies already using Bertillon measurements.

1897 - On October 20, 1897, the National Association of Chiefs of Police of the United States
and Canada opened the National Bureau of Identification (NBI) in City Hall at Chicago, Illinois.
NBI files included mugshots, fingerprints and related Bertillon records from criminals. In 1902,
the parent organization's name was changed to the International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP) and the NBI moved from Chicago to Washington, DC.

Edward Richard Henry (1900) - The United Kingdom Home Secretary Office conducted an
inquiry into "Identification of Criminals by Measurement and Fingerprints." Mr. Edward Richard
Henry (later Sir ER Henry) appeared before the inquiry committee to explain the system
published in his recent book "The Classification and Use of Fingerprints." The committee
recommended adoption of fingerprinting as a replacement for the relatively inaccurate Bertillon
system of anthropometric measurement, which only partially relied on fingerprints for
identification.

1901 (New Scotland Yard) - The Fingerprint Branch at New Scotland Yard (Metropolitan
Police) was created in July 1901. It used the Henry System of Fingerprint Classification.

Dr. Henry Pelouze de Forest (1902) - Dr. Henry Pelouze de Forest was appointed Chief
Medical Examiner of the New York City Civil Service commission in June of 1902 and was
tasked with developing a civil applicant identification process to reduce fraud involving
imposters testing for applicants. Dr. de Forest travelled to Europe to study the Bertillon system,
but while in England enroute to France, read a September 15, 1902 Daily Telegraph newspaper
with the the headline "Identification by Finger Prints." Scotland Yard's success in solving cases
with fingerprints convinced de Forest to abandon the Bertillon system, cancelling his plans to
study that system in France.

Although rebuffed by Scotland Yard at first, with US Embassy assistance Dr. de

Forest was accepted as a fingerprint student under Sergeant (later Chief Inspector) Charles S.
Collins at Scotland Yard. Dr. de Forest returned to America with a fingerprint magnifier, several
record forms, and a copy of Sir Edward R. Henry’s publication "The Classification and Uses of
Finger Prints."

On 19 December 1902, James Johnson was the first person in America fingerprinted
for civil applicant purposes. Johnson was fingerprinted as part of New York City's Civil Service
application process.
1903 - The New York State Prison System and Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas began
using fingerprinting.

The fingerprints of Will and William West were compared at Leavenworth

Penitentiary after both men were found to have very similar Anthropometric (Bertillon System)
measurements.

Upon investigation, it was determined there were two men who looked very similar.
Their names were William and Will West. Their Bertillon measurements were similar enough to
identify them as the same person. However, fingerprint comparisons quickly and correctly
determined the biometrics (fingerprints and face) were from two different people. (According to
prison records made public years later, the West men were apparently identical twins and each
had a record of correspondence with the same immediate family relatives.)

1904 - The use of fingerprints began at the St. Louis Police Department. They were assisted by
a Sergeant from Scotland Yard who had been on duty at the St. Louis World's Fair Exposition
guarding the British Display. After the St. Louis World's Fair, more and more US police agencies
joined in submitting fingerprints to the International Association of Chiefs of Police Bureau of
Criminal Identification.

1905 - U.S. Army begins using fingerprints. U.S. Department of Justice forms the Bureau of
Criminal Identification in Washington, DC to provide a centralized reference collection of
fingerprint cards.

1907 - U.S. Navy begins using fingerprints.

In 1907, the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Criminal Identification

moves from Washington, DC to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas where it is staffed
at least partially by inmates. Suspicious of inmates involvement with the identification process,
the International Association of Chiefs of Police BCI (still located in Washington, DC), refused to
share with the DOJ BCI in Kansas. The lack of communication between local, state, and federal
law enforcement presented great challenges at all levels in locating and identifying wanted
criminals, especially those moving from state to state. The disconnect was not remedied until
1924.

1908 - U.S. Marine Corps begins using fingerprints.

1910 - In 1910, Frederick Brayley published the first American textbook on fingerprints,
"Arrangement of Finger Prints, Identification, and Their Uses."

Edmond Locard (1914) - Dr. Edmond Locard published his fingerprint identification conclusions
and the criteria that should be used to ensure reliability based on a statistical analysis study in
1914. His research revealed the following three-part rule, which can be summarized as follows:

1. If more than 12 concurring points are present and the fingerprint is sharp, the certainty of
identity is beyond debate.

2. If 8 to 12 concurring points are involved, then the case is borderline and the certainty of
identity will depend on:

2.a. the sharpness of the fingerprints;

2.b. the rarity of its type;

2.c. the presence of the center of the figure [core] and the triangle [delta] in the exploitable part
of the print;

2.d. the presence of pores [poreoscopy];

2.e. the perfect and obvious identity regarding the width of the papillary ridges and valleys, the
direction of the lines, and the angular value of the bifurcations [ridgeology / edgeoscopy]. Dr.
Locard also realized the value and the importance of, and rendered qualified conclusions to the
identification process.

3.If a limited number of characteristic points are present, the fingerprints cannot provide
certainty for an identification, but only a presumption proportional to the number of points
available and their clarity. (Modified from: Christophe Champod, Institut de Police Scientifique et
de Criminiologie BCH/Universite de Lausanne, " Edmond Locard - Numerical Standards &
"Probable" Identifications, Journal of Forensic Identification, 45 (2) 1995, pp136-155)

1914 - The idea of INTERPOL was born in Monaco at the first International Criminal Police
Congress (14 to 18 April 1914). Officials from 24 countries discussed cooperation on solving
crimes. In addition to laying the foundation for INTERPOL, the meeting proposed laying the
foundations for establishing:

(1) An international identification file;

(2) A classification system for such files; and

(3) A list of categories for ordinary-law "international" or "cosmopolitan" offenders.

1915 - Inspector Harry H. Caldwell of the Oakland, California Police Department's Bureau of
Identification wrote numerous letters to "Criminal Identification Operators" in August 1915,
requesting them to meet in Oakland for the purpose of forming an organization to further the
aims of the identification profession. In October 1915, a group of twenty-two identification
personnel met and initiated the "International Association for Criminal Identification" In 1918, the
organization was renamed to the International Association for Identification (IAI) due to the
volume of non-criminal identification work performed by members. Sir Francis Galton's right
index finger appears in the IAI logo. The IAI's official publication is the Journal of Forensic
Identification. The IAI's 100th annual educational conference was held in Sacramento,
California, near the IAI's original roots.

1923 - US Department of Justice Fingerprint Repository Returns to Washington, DC

     Following a meeting between the US Attorney General and representatives of the
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the US Department of Justice Bureau of
Criminal Identification fingerprint collection was transferred from Leavenworth Penitentiary back
to Washington, DC, in October 1923.

1924 - FBI's Identification Division is formed

    
In 1924, an act of congress established the Identification Division of the FBI. The
IACP's Bureau of Criminal Identification fingerprint repository and the US Justice Department's
Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) fingerprint repository were consolidated to form the
nucleus of the FBI Identification Division fingerprint files (originally including a total of 810,188
fingerprint cards). During the decades since, the FBI's fingerprint national fingerprint support
(both through Criminal Justice Information Services and the FBI Laboratory) has been
indispensable in supporting American law enforcement. (FBI, The CJIS Link, 2000)

1940s - By the end of World War II, most American fingerprint experts agreed there was no
scientific basis for a minimum number of corresponding minutiae to determine an "identification"
and the twelve point rule was dropped from the FBI publication, "The Science of Fingerprints."
    
By 1946, the FBI had processed over 100 million fingerprint cards in files maintained
manually. In 1947, the FBI's fingerprint repository was moved from the Washington DC Armory
Building to a new building at 2nd and D Streets Southwest in Washington, DC.
    
 With the introduction of automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS)
technology, the files were later split into computerized criminal files and manually maintained
civil files. Many of the manual files were duplicates though, the records actually represented
somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 million criminals, and an unknown number (tens of
millions) of individuals represented in the civil files.

1960s - In 1963, the FBI's Latent Print Unit completed 9,668 latent print cases from local, state
and federal American law enforcement, including 76,309 specimens (evidence items) for latent
print examination. The Latent Print Unit identified suspects in 795 of the cases.

As of 1 May 1964, the FBI's Identification Division had more than 170 million fingerprint records
(170,681,473 records), including almost 45 million criminal fingerprint records (44,926,750
criminal fingerprint records).

1971 - On 15 December 1971, the FBI began accepting only arrest fingerprint cards with light
red (pinkish) impression boundary lines conforming to FD-249 specifications. Before that date,
many US law enforcement agencies used their own 8 inch x 8 inch fingerprint cards with slight
variations of the height and width of blocks wherein fingerprints would be recorded. The change
was needed for two reasons:

● To standardize the location of fingerprints for automated fingerprint scanning (flying spot laser
scanning in the early years); and

● To eliminate artificial bifurcations (artifacts) created when inked fingerprints extended over
black ink finger block boundary lines. The light red ink eliminated such artifact problems.

1973 - The International Association for Identification Standardization Committee authored a

resolution stating that each identification is unique and no valid basis exists to require a
minimum number of matching points in two friction ridge impressions to establish a positive
identification. The resolution was approved by members at the 1973 annual IAI conference.

1974 – The Fingerprint Society

In 1974, four employees of the Hertfordshire (United Kingdom) Fingerprint Bureau contacted
fingerprint experts throughout the UK and began organization of that country's first professional
fingerprint organization, the National Society of Fingerprint Officers. The organization initially
consisted of only UK experts, but quickly expanded to international scope and was renamed
The Fingerprint Society in 1977. The initials FFS behind a fingerprint expert's name indicates
they were recognized as a Fellow of the Fingerprint Society. The Society hosted annual
educational conferences with speakers and delegates attending from many countries. In 2017,
The Fingerprint Society merged with The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (CSFS) and
has since been known as the CSFS Fingerprint Division.

1977 - On 1 August 1977 at New Orleans, Louisiana, members attending the 62nd Annual
Conference of the International Association for Identification (IAI) voted to establish the world's
first certification program for fingerprint experts. Since then, the IAI's Latent Print Certification
Board has tested thousands of applicants, and periodically proficiency retests all IAI Certified
Latent Print Examiners (CLPEs).

Contrary to assertions by some forensic science critics that fingerprint experts claim they never
make erroneous identifications, the Latent Print Certification program, active since 1977, has
specifically recognized such mistakes sometimes occur and must be addressed.

During the past four decades, CLPE status has become a prerequisite for journeyman
fingerprint expert positions in some US state and federal government forensic laboratories. IAI
CLPE status is considered by many identification professionals to be a measurement of
excellence. CLPE's have sometimes made erroneous latent print identifications (including an
erroneous identification made by the chair of the IAI's Latent Print Certification Board).
1995 - At the International Symposium on Latent Fingerprint Detection and Identification,
conducted by the Israeli National Police Agency, at Neurim, Israel, June, 1995, the Neurim
Declaration was issued. The declaration, (authored by Pierre Margot and Ed German), states
"No scientific basis exists for requiring that a pre-determined minimum number of friction ridge
features must be present in two impression in order to establish a positive identification." The
declaration was unanimously approved by all present, and later, signed by 28 persons from the
following 11 countries: Australia, Canada, France, Holland, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand,
Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.

In 1995, the FBI established the Technical Working Group for Friction Ridge Analysis, Study,
and Technology (TWGFAST) to help establish national standards, guidelines, and best
practices for friction ridge examination in forensic science laboratories and law enforcement
latent print offices. TWGFAST was modeled after the FBI-sponsored Technical Working Group
on DNA Analysis Methods (TWGDAM) established in 1989.

In 1999, TWGFAST became SWGFAST when all the FBI-sponsored Technical Working Groups

(TWGs) were renamed to Scientific Working Groups (SWGs). The renaming was partially to
differentiate the long-term (many years) aspect of of forensic working groups establishing
standards, guidelines, and best practices from the short-term (one-day or one-week) TWGs
sponsored by the US National Institute of Justice to work on documents/guides... and partially to
emphasize the focus on embracing science for improvement in the various forensic disciplines.

2004 - Because of quality assurance lessons learned after high-profile case errors such as the
Brandon Mayfield mistaken identification, check boxes for latent print examination since 2004
have included the following:

 Training to competency of all latent print examiners in compliance with national or

international guidelines.

 Annual Proficiency Testing of every latent print examiner in compliance with national or
international guidelines.

 International Assocation for Identification Certified Latent Print Examiner status. Just as
most accountants are not Certified Public Accountants, less than half of all latent print
examiners in America ever achieve IAI Certification. It does not mean they are not
trained to minimum competency but does mean they have not passed what many US
state and federal labs consider the minimum status for employment as senior latent print
examiners.

 Every latent print "identification" (strongest association) must undergo quality assurance
review by a second trained to competency latent print examiner.

 Every case including one of the following "red flags" must undergo blind-review by a
second latent print examiner (preferably by a CLPE). During the past four decades, one
or both of these red flags have almost always been present when a mistaken
"identification" happens:

o Only one latent print strongest association ("identification") to a person,

especially if the association resulted from automated search results (AFIS or
ABIS).

o Any complex (poor quality) latent or record print involved in a strongest

association ("identification") opinion. The following sufficiency graph (SWGFAST
version 2013) does not suggest or endorse the use of minutiae counts as
the sole criteria for a decision threshold, but the yellow (B) area is typically
complex and the red (C) area is typically insufficient for "identification":
No forensic service provider (FSP) can do everything in every case. They must all balance
accuracy, timeliness, and thoroughness against available resources... and thoroughness is
typically what gets sacrificed. The variety of latent print casework quality assurance policies
used by some FSPs, include the following:

 Requiring a second expert blind-review of any case involving only one latent print
suitable for comparison, whether or not an elimination or strongest association
(identification) occurred. This practice helps eliminate confirmation bias when other
experts might expect only "identifications" to be presented to them for review.

 Requiring a second latent print examiner review (typically not a blind-review) of every
latent print comparison in every case, including all eliminations (non-idents).

2012 - INTERPOL's Automated Fingerprint Identification System repository exceeds 150,000

sets of fingerprints for important international criminal records from 190 member countries. Over
170 countries have 24 x 7 interface ability with INTERPOL expert fingerprint services.

2014 - In 2014, SWGFAST was replaced by the Friction Ridge Subcommittee of the
Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC). Most, but not all,
SWGs were disbanded when OSAC was formed.

2021 – Largest Annual International Identification Conference was held.

2021 - America’s Largest Databases

FINGERPRINT IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. Mr. Jones – he was the first to teach fingerprint in the Philippine Constabulary
in the year 1900.
2. Bureau of Prison - records shows that in 19118, CARPETAS (Commitment
and Conviction Records) already used in fingerprint.
3. Lt. Asa and N. Darby – established a modern and complete fingerprint files for
the Philippine Commonwealth during the re-occupation of the Philippines by
the American Forces.
4. Generoso Reyes – First Filipino Fingerprint technician employed by the Phil.
Constabulary.
5. Isabela Bernales – The first Filipina fingerprint Technician
6. Cpt. Thomas Dugan of the New York Police Department and Flaviano
Guerrero of FBI Washington were the first to administer an examination of
fingerprint in 1927 and Agustin Patricio of the Philippines topped the said
examination.
7. People of the Philippines Vs. Medina- First conviction based on fingerprint
and leading judicial decision in the phil. Jurisprudence (10 points of Identity).
8. Plaridel Education Institution – Now known as the Philippine College of
Criminology, the first government- recognized school to teach the science of
fingerprint and other Police Science in the Philippines.