FORENSIC 2

PERSONAL
IDENTIFICATION
TECHNIQUE
 • CHAPTER 1
• HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
OF FINGERPRINT
Dactyloscopy relies on the analysis and
classification of patterns observed in
individual prints. Fingerprints are made
of series of ridges and furrows on the
surface of a finger; the loops, whorls, and
arches formed by those ridges and
furrows generally follow a number of
distinct patterns.
Dactylography is the study of fingerprints
for purposes of identification.
 Early Knowledge of Friction Ridge
Individuality.
• Thomas Bewick (1753 – 1828)

• A British author, naturalist and

engraver became England’s finest
engraver who made fingerprint
stamps. He made wooden engravings
of fingerprints where he used his
fingerprint as a signature.
• Sir William J. Herschel (1859)

• He is credited as being the first European to

recognize the value of friction ridge points
and to actually use them for identification
purposes. Herschel’s experiments with
friction ridges resulted in the first
demonstration of friction ridge persistency.
He first fingerprinted himself in 1859. Over
the following years, he reprinted himself and
compared those prints with previously taken
prints to ascertain if they had changed.
• Dr. J.C.A. Mayer (1788)

• A German doctor and anatomist

whose paper on fingerprint clearly
addressed the individuality of the
friction ridges.
• Dr. Henry Faulds (1843-1930)

• He mentioned that fingerprints can

be classified easily and that ridge
detail is unique. He pointed out the
value of fingerprinting and
commented that people change over
the years but the friction ridges never
change.
• Thomas Taylor (1877)

• A Microscopist of the Department of

Agriculture, Washington DC, who
suggested that fingerprints could be
used to solve crimes.
• Alphonse Bertillon (1853 – 1914)

• he devised the first truly scientific

method of criminal identification in
Paris France called anthropometry or
Bertillonage. (Identification of
individuals by measurements of the
part of the body.), He conceived the
idea of using anatomical measurement
to distinguish one criminal from
another.
• Francis Galton (1893)

• Galton was of the opinion that

fingerprinting might be a better
method of identification. He added
fingerprinting to the presentation of
Anthropometry.