LESSON PROPER

SIGNIFICANCE AND EVOLUTION OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

The main task of a criminal investigator is to establish the identity of a suspect. Many
times, cases referred to the investigator are the unknown-suspect category where the
suspect’s actions are known, but personal
identification has not been made. A witness can be
identified as a suspect by describing his physical
appearance, height complexion, body built, age and
other distinguishing visible marks. This means of
identification is positive identification, however, such
is not an accurate means of identify the person.
Tracing information is another means of identification
and this refers to all information indicative of personal
identity of an individual. Fingerprints have traditionally
been considered the single most positive indicator of personal identification and has been
proven infaliable.

Of all the identification methods in crimes, fingerprinting has one of the longest
histories. Fingerprints, the friction ridge detail on the
inside of the hands, are almost always unique and
unchanging for a person’s entire life. It’s been an
invaluable tool in forensics, solving many crimes and
being used in evidence in countless trials, and is a well-
known tool by laypeople, after being featured in CSI
shows around the world. The ACE-V method used in
Australia has particularly increased the accuracy of
correct positive identification, preventing false positive
identifications and reducing false negative identifications but fingerprints are not simple, nor
infallible.

Once this is established, scientists move to the comparison stage, observing the
inked fingerprint and latent print from the crime scene side-by-side to determine details of
the prints and the agreements or discrepancies between
them; then evaluation, the assessment of the results of
the analysis and comparison stages to determine a
conclusion on the individualisation of the print, and
finally: verification by an independent examiner by re-
examining the prints and coming to the same
conclusion. The only conclusions are inclusion
(meaning the evidence points to the fingerprints being
caused by the same ridge skin), exclusion (the evidence
does not support the fingerprints being caused by the same ridge skin), or inconclusive
(insufficient detail to support either conclusion) (Lennard, 2012).
 Many countries around the world established numerical thresholds or matched
friction ridge features to support a conclusion, which have since fallen out of favour in many
countries including Australia, although many
scientists continue to hold their own thresholds
(Lennard, 2012; Robinson, 2011).

One of the most important uses

for fingerprints is to help investigators link one crime
scene to another involving the same
person. Fingerprint identification also helps
investigators to track a criminal's record, their
previous arrests and convictions, to aid in
sentencing, probation, parole and pardoning
decisions.

The Importance or Value of Fingerprints

a. Prevent impersonation
b. Speedily identify a wrongdoer
c. Serve to give evidence
d. Help to identify victims of disaster, calamities, floods, etc.
e. Identify bodies whose cadavers are beyond recognition
f. Aid the judiciary in penal treatment
g. Prevent criminal substitution of the newly born

HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS OF FINGERPRINT

Fingerprints have imparted a sense of identity for hundreds of years and the
development of fingerprint science predates the Christian era by many centuries.
Prehistoric Indians picture writing of hand with crudely marked ridge patterns, fingerprints
impression on clay tablets recording business transactions in ancient Babylon, and clay
seals of ancient Chinese origin bearing thumb prints, were found as evidence of early use
of fingerprint as identification of persons impressing the prints and can be traced also in
ancient China hundreds of years ago during the T’ang Dynasty.

Likewise they used fingerprints for identification purposes to establish identity in

courts in litigation over disputed business dealings. However, the Chinese people at that
time were not yet fully aware of the uniqueness of a fingerprint. The Japanese people
however can also be credited as one of the early explorer of fingerprint.

The formal study begun in early as 1686 but has finally gained official use in 1858
by Sir William James Herschel. He used fingerprint in India to prevent fraudulent
collection of army pay accounts and to identify on other documents.

In 1880 two major developments were achieved that ushered to a more holistic
acceptance of fingerprint use. Dr. Henry Faulds, wrote a publication nature on the
practical use of fingerprints for the identification of criminals. His argument was supported
by his studies and successful experiments on permanency of one’s fingerprint. And after
that, Sir Francis Galton and Charles Darwin devised the first scientific method of
classifying fingerprint patterns.

It was in 1882 when the 1st authentic record of official use of fingerprints was noted
in the USA. And 1891, Juan Vucetich used a system of fingerprint as criminal identification
based on Sir Francis Galton’s studies.

As early as 20th century, fingerprint use in criminal investigation has gained

widespread acceptance across the USA and was adopted in use by the different branches
of the United States Armed Forces. The use of fingerprint since then begun to take its toll.
The United States has fostered the fingerprint development to its most intricate system.

Today, the Us Federal Bureau of Investigation’s identification files rapidly

approaching 200 million sets of fingerprint- the largest collection in the world.

ORIGIN OF FINGERPRINTS
 EGYPT
The earliest evidence of ridge detail on the hands
and feet of humans was seen in the 4000 years old
mummies of ancient Egypt. The hands and feet of
mummies have been examined on numerous occasions
and they confirmed the presence of ridge detail on the
mummy’s digits.

 CHINA
It was a common practice for the Chinese to use inked fingerprints on official
documents, lands scales, contracts, loans and
acknowledgement of debt. The oldest existing
documents so endorsed date from 3rd century BC
and it was still an effective practice until recent
times.
Chinese are the ones noted to be the user
of fingerprint. They use fingerprints as symbolism
in the early part of their rituals until they utilize it in
signing of a contract on the
part of the illiterate. They
called fingerprints is called
“Hua Chi”.
Emperor Te’in Shi- 1st Chinese ruler who devised seal
carved from white jade; on one side of it was the name of
the owner and on other side the thumb mark on the destitute.
The first emperor to use clay finger seals for sealing
documents. The documents of the time were wooden tablets
or whittled pieces of bamboo bound together with strings.
 The seal itself was small dollop of clay. A carved stamp with fingerprint was
embossed on the other to prove authenticity.
With the advent of silk and paper hand prints became the most common
method of ensuring the genuineness of contract. The right hand was simply traced
or stamped onto a document. The anthropometric values of hand size and shape,
along with a signature, were often enough to ensure authenticity.
During 1975 in Yven Ming Country in China, bamboo strips were found
describing a trial reported to have taken place during in Qin dynasty (300 BC).
During a thief trial handprint were entered an evidence. Another anthropometric
method used in early China was the “Deed of Hand Mark.” This method involved
marking of flexion crease location of each phalangeal joint of the right hand onto
document. In some cases, the whole hand was traced and the flexion creases of
the fingers added to the tracing.
Other methods of identification used in ancient times are still used today.
The Chinese put notches randomly along the sides of the writing tables of duplicate
contracts. The notches could not be physically
matched by holding the tablets together of some
future time to ensure authenticity. This was
described by the Chinese historian Kia-kung Yen in
659 AD. While writing about an earlier time he said;
“ Wooden tablets were inscribed by the Chinese with
terms of the contract and notches were cut into
sides at the identical places so that the tablets could
later be matched; thus proving them genuine; the
significance of the notches was the same as that of
the fingerprint of the present time.” The comparison of the use of notches on tablets
to the use of fingerprints established that fingerprints were used to identify people
in 650 AD.
Early in 12th century, in the novel, “The story of the River Bank,”
fingerprinting found itself already in the criminal procedure of China; and in the 16th
century, a custom prevailed in connection with the sale of children. Palm and sole
impressions were stamped on deeds of sale to prevent impersonation.

 JAPAN
Legal papers were marked in ink using the top of the thumb and nail while
nail stamping cannot be considered method of friction ridge identification. A
Japanese Historian, Kamagusu Minakata further commented about blood
stamping. Apparently, contracts were accompanied by written
oath confirmed with a blood stamp. The blood stamp was a print
of the ring finger in blood drawn from the digit. A another Japanese
Historian, Churyo Katsurakwaa (1754) wrote, “ According to the
Domestic law (enacted in 701 AD), to divorce a wife, the husband
must give her a document stating which of the seven reasons must
give her a document stating which of the seven reasons was
assigned for action. All letters must be in the husband’s
handwriting, but in case he does not understand how to write, he
 should sign with a fingerprint.” The main points of the Japanese domestic Laws
were borrowed and transplanted from the Chinese Laws of Yung Hui (650-655
AD). This fact illustrates how Chinese customs, laws and practices spread to other
countries.

 FRANCE
The most famous ancient stone carvings is found in the L’lle de Gavrinis of
the coast of France. Here a burial chamber, or dolman, was
discovered dating back to Neolithis times. The Dolman,
constructed of slabs of stones, is a gallery leading into an
enlarged chamber, the structure being imbedded into a low
mound of earth. Its inner walls are covered with incised
designs systems of horse-shoe form, more or less circular
concentric figures, spiral, arching lines sinuous and
straight lines and other markings occurring in various
combinations. Many anthropologists interpret these lines
as representing finger or palmprint patterns.

 NOVA SCOTIA
An outline of a hand was scratched into slate rock beside Kejiomkujil lake
by an aboriginal Indian. The carving is an outline of a hand and fingers are
depicted. This carving has considerable historical significance. Although it does
not demonstrate knowledge of the individuality of friction ridges or palmar flexion
crease, it clearly illustrates an early awareness of the presence of these
formations.

 BABYLONIA
References by ancient historians have been found describing how finger
seals were used on legal contracts from 1855-1913 BC. The finger impressions of
the parties involved in a contract or agreement were apparently pressed into the
clay surface along with the script. The practice identified the author and protected
against forgery.

 PALESTINE
William Frederick Bade, Director of the Palestine Institute
of Archeology, conducted excavations at various sites in
Palestine and at one place found finger imprints on many pieces
of broken pottery. These identifications permitted the confused
debris to dated accurately to the forth century AD. Commenting
on this case, Fingerprint magazine (1973) stated that these
impressions were obviously intentional and no doubt,
represented the workman’s individual trade mark.
  HOLLAND AND ANCIENT CHINA
Identification of individuals was by means of branding, tattooing, mutilation
and also manifested by wearing of clothes of different designs. In earlier
civilization, branding and even maiming were used to mark the criminal for what
he was. The thief was deprived of the hand which committed the thievery. The
Romans employed the tattoo needle to identify and prevent desertion of mercenary
soldiers.

EARLY PUBLICATIONS
 NEHEMIAH GREW- an English Botanist, physician and micropist published a
report/ paper entitled “Philosophical Transactions” in 1684 which
was presented before the Royal Society in London, England,
describing his observation of the Innumerable little ridges of equal
big ness on the ends of the first joints of the fingers. He described
sweat pores, epidermal ridges, and their various arrangements.
Included in his paper was a drawing of the configurations of the
hand displaying the ridge flow on the fingers and palms.

 GOVARD BIDLO- An anatomist in Amsterdam, Holland published a thesis

“Anatomia Humanis Corporis” which emphasize the appearance
and arrangement of the ridges of the thumb due to their
importance.

 MARCELO MALPIGHI – 1686 a professor of anatomy at the University of Bologna,

noted in his treatise; ridges, spirals and loops in fingerprint. He
made no mention of their value as a tool for individual
identification. A layer of skin was named after him, “Malphigi’ layer
which was approximately 1.8 mm thick. An Italian anatomist who
published a book entitled “De Externo Tactus Organo”depicting
the construction of the layers of the human skin. Known also as
the grandfather of Dactyloscopy according to Dr Edmond Loccard.
He describe ridges found on the palmar surface of the hand which course in
diverse and designs and the pores which served as the mouth of the sweat glands
and noted for the discovery of the inner and outer structure of the skin.
 THOMAS BEWICK- 1809 was as well- known English engraver in wood. He was
also a writer and in some of his books he gave a facsimile of the
impression of one of his books he gave a facsimile of the
impression of one of his fingers apparently as a kind of eccentric
book-mark. It does not seem to have occurred to Bewick that the
impression could be used as means of identification, yet he must
have been well aware that he had carved out a distinct pattern

 HINTZE- wrote on ridge formation but dealt with the subject from viewpoint of
anatomy rather than identification.

 ALBINUS- followed along the same lines as HINTZE had written

 JCA MAYER - he published a book which was an atlas of anatomical Illustrations

of Fingerprint during 1788. His remarks contain a statement which
clearly pronounced one of the fundamental principles of Fingerprint
Science although the arrangement of the friction ridges is unique and
never duplicated in two persons nevertheless, the similarities are
closer among the same individual. He was the 1st to state that the
prints of two different persons are never alike.

 JOHANNES EVANGELIST PURKENJI- 1823 Father of Dactyloscopy, A

Czechoslovakian physiologist, Professor in the University of Breslan,
Germany, described ridges, giving them names and established
certain rules of their classification and identified nine (9) different
patterns although he does not refer to it as used in identification.(
tranverse curve, central longitudinal stria, oblique stripe, oblique loop,
almond, spiral, ellipse, circle and double vortex)

 ALPHONSE BERTILLON- He devised the first truly scientific method of criminal

identification in Paris France called anthropometry or Bertillonage.
He conceived the idea of using anatomical measurements to
distinguish one criminal from another. He decided to use various
body measurements such as head length, head breadth, length of
left middle finger, length of the left cubit (forearm)/ length of the left
foot, body height, face breadth, face height and other descriptions
including features such as scars and hair and eye color to distinguish
criminals.
 ARTHUR KOLLMAN- 1883 the first researcher to address the formation of friction
ridges in embryos and the topographical physical stressor that may
have been part of their growth. He identified the presence and
locations of the volar pads on the human hand and foot. He is from
Germany.

 H. KLAATSCH- from Germany who examined the walking pads and eminences of
several pentadactloscopy of five fingered mammals. He was credited
being the first researcher to examine the walking surface of other
mammals. He also referred to the arrangement of the fundamental
limits of the friction ridges as the reason why all ridges formations are
different.

 DAVID HEPBURN- He is connected with the University of Edinburgh, Scotland,

published a paper on the similarity in appearance of the eminences or
walking surfaces of primates entitled, “The Papillary ridges on the
Hands and Feet of Monkeys and Men.” He was the first to recognize
that ridges assist gripping by creating friction and that they had a
function other than increasing tactile stimulus.

 INEZ WHIPPLE- in 1904 published a paper, “The Vential Surfaces of the

Mammalian Chiridium- with Special Reference to the Conditions
Found in Man.” His survey into mammalian palm and sole
Configurations has formed an important part of the modern scientific
knowledge on the subject and is considered a landmark in the fields of
genetics and ridgeology. The development of the surfaces of the hand
and feet of all mammals are similar to some degree was learned from
paper.

 HARRIS HAWTHORNE WILDER- a professor of zoology at Smith College,

Massachusettes that in 1896, while he was studying monkeys, he was
struck by the resemblance of their volar friction ridges to men. He
became very interested in dermatoglyphics and in 1897 published his
first paper on the subject entitled “On the disposition of the Epidermic
Folds upon the Palms and Soles of Primates.” He was the first to
suggest that the centers of disturbance of primate friction ridge
formations actually represented the locations of volar pads.
  HERMAN WELKER (1856)-took prints of his own palm and after forty one (41)
years (1879) he printed the same palm to prove that prints do not
changed. A professor of Anthropology at the University of Halle,
Germany. Little is known about him, except that he was first to
publish in 1898, the prints of his right hand, one taken in 1856 and
other in 1897. There was thus a time –interval of 57 years. At this
early stags, such a long time interval was a great value, in proving
the continuity and persistence of the lines in the patterns on the
palms and in the fingers of the hand. The Welker time-interval was far greater than
anything Galton had in his possession when he published “Fingerprints” in 1892.

 HAROLD CUMMINS- a Professor in Anatomy & Assistant Dean of the School of

Medicine at Tulane University, Louisiana who spent a great deal of
his life studying dermatoglyphics. In 1943 he co- authored a book “
Fingerprint, Palms and Soles- An Introduction to de rmatoglyphics
with Bidloo. In 1929, published a paper, “The Topographic History
of the Volar Pads in the Human Embryo”. He described the
formation and development of volar pads on the human fetus. he
concluded that the physical aspects of the volar pads such as
location, growth differential and configuration variances affected friction ridges
development and overall pattern configuration.

 ALFRED HALE- a doctor from Tulane University, an associative of Cummins

published a thesis in 1952 entitled, “Morphogenesis of the Volar Skin
in the Human Fetus. Hale’s paper not only describes the formation
of friction ridges of the human fetus but also describes the
development of friction ridge identification.

FINGERPRINT AS METHOD OF IDENTIFICATION

 SIR WILLIAM J. HERSCHEL (1858)-Father of Chiroscopy
a chief magistrate of the Hoogly, District of Bengal, India,
first used fingerprints on the native contracts. On a whim,
and with no thought toward personal identification.
 RAJYADHAR KONAI-the first person Herschel printed the
palm. Herschel requested that the prisoners be
fingerprinted, but his permission was denied in 1877.

 HENRY FAULDS-1880 a Scottish missionary doctor of United Presbytherian

Church (Tsukiji, Hospital, Tokyo, Japan) published an
article on “ the skin furrows of the Hand” points out his
observation that chance prints left at the scene of the crime
would provide for positive identification of offenders when
apprehended and advocated the used of fingerprints in the
detection of crime.

 THOMAS TAYLOR- A microscopist of the Department of Agriculture, Washington,

DC who also suggested that fingerprints could be used to
solve crime. The July 1877 issue of “The American Journal
of Microscopy and Popular science” contained the text form
part of a lecture by Taylor. “Hand Marks under the
Microscope- exhibited on a screen view of the markings of
the palms of the Hands, and the tips of 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.

 SIR FRANCIS GALTON – 1888 is credited with being the first scientist of friction
skin identification who established the first civil bureau of
personal identification in London as well as his role in
promoting its use. He was able to discover the three families
of fingerprint patterns-Arch, Loop and Whorl. He was made his
own system of classification which was officially adopted on
Feb. 12, 1894 and devised a practical system of filing based
on the ridge patterns.

 SIR EDWARD RICHARD HENRY 1900 Father of Fingerprints- succeeding

Herschel position in India, he develop his own system of
classification while working in Scotland Yard and which was
recognized and officially adopted in Wales as well as
throughout England. He was appointed as Assistant
Commissioner at Scotland Yard. He was later credited as the
“Father of Fingerprints” for his system was widely accepted in
almost English Speaking Countries. In year 1914 this system replaced the
Bertillonage in France.
  KHAM BAHADUR AZIZUL HAQUE and RAI HEM CHANDRA
BOSE-the two (2) Hindu Police Officer who have help Henry
in attaining his goal when he was still in India.

 JUAN VUCETICH (1891)-developed his own system of classification which was

officially adopted in Argentina and in used today in most
Spanish-speaking countries in South America.

HISTORY OF FINGERPRINT IN AMERICA

 GILBERT THOMPSON- 1882 a Geologist in New Mexico who adopted the first
individual used of fingerprint in August 8, 1882 by using his own
thumbprint as protection to prevent tampering with pay orders/
cheque he issued. The 1st known use of fingerprints in United
States.

 ISAIAH WEST TABER- 1880 a photographer in San

Francisco who was already engaged in the study and
promotion of the fingerprint system even before Galton’s
participation. He had advocated the use of system for the
registration of Immigrant Chinese.

 MARK TWAIN- An American author and lecturer that enhanced the position of
fingerprints when he included their use in the plot of a
novel entitled Pudd’ n Head Wilson. In the novel, a bloody
fingerprint is found on the murderer weapon and Pudd’n
Head, the defense attorney, has the whole town
fingerprinted. He lectured the court and jury on the basics
of fingerprinting, how fingerprints are immutable and that
two fingerprints will never be found to be the same. He
also commented on how identical twins can be
indistinguishable in appearance, at times even by their parents but their
fingerprints will always be different.
 SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENTS-Englishman
whose Nun de Plume informally introduced
Dactyloscopy, the science of fingerprint in the United
States thru his book “Life in the Mississippi” and
Pupp’nhead Wilson”.

 DR. HENRY P. DE FOREST-utilized the first Municipal

Civil use of fingerprint for Criminal Registration on
December 1902 in the Municipal Civil Service
Commission of the City of New York. He required civil
service applicants to be fingerprinted to prevent them from
having better qualified persons take tests for them and put
the system into practice.

 EDWARD FOSTER- A Canadian Constable of the

Dominion Police attended the World’s Fair to guard a
display of gold. He attended Ferriers presentation at the
convention and intrigued by the possibilities that
fingerprinting had to offer, he felt that a bureau would be
effective than an anthropometry bureau. He also felt that a
national organization in Canada, similar to the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, would encourage cooperation among Canadian
police departments and be an ideal body to promote a national interest in
fingerprinting.

 CAPT. JAMES I. PARKE-advocate the first state and penal

use of fingerprint in which was officially adopted in Sing-
Sing Prison on June 5, 1903 later on Huburn Napanoch and
Clinton Penitentiaries.

 SGT. JOHN KENNETH FERRIER-Englishman and

fingerprint instructor at St. Louis Police Department,
Missouri. He is one of the pupils of Sir Edward Richard
Henry, and trough personal contract during the world’s fair
exposition held in St. Louis Fingerprint Bureau was
established on April 2, 1904.

 MAJ. MC. CLOUGNRY- Warden of Federal Penetentiaries of Levenworth. When

the office of the Attorney General of the United States granted permission to
establish a fingerprint bureau therein on November 2, 1904. It was the first official
National government use of fingerprint.
  HARRY MAYERS- 1925 installed the first official foot and fingerprint system for
infants at the Jewish Maternity Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennysylvania, USA, the
first system in the state.

 DR. EDMOND LOCCARD- French criminalist who was known to be the Father of
Poroscopy. The principle underlying the value of testing
associative evidence is that every time someone enters an
environment, something is added to remove from it. Named
after Dr. Edmond Locard who called physical evidence the
silent witness and it can provide valuable information as to
the circumstances of a crime. Edmond Locard in an early
1900’s founded the first forensic science laboratory in Lyon,
France and his work became one of the foundations of
modern-day criminalistics. He believed that every time two objects come into
contract, there is an equal and consistent exchange that takes place between the
two objects.

 MARY K. HOLLAND- first American instructress in

dactyloscopy.

 FEDERAL BUREAU OF NVESTIGATION-identification unit

therein was officially established by Act of Congress in 1924.

 INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCE-first private school to install laboratories for

instruction purpose in Dactyloscopy.

 PEOPLE VS. JENNINGS (Dec. 21, 1911)-United States leading case wherein the
first conviction based on fingerprint was recognized by the judicial authorities.
(14 points of identification)

FINGERPRINTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

 MR. JONES- one who first taught fingerprint in the Philippine Constabulary in
1900.

 BUREAU OF PRISON- records shows that in 1918, CARPETAS (Commitment and

Conviction Records) fingerprints is already used.

 LT. ASA and N. DARBY- established a modern and complete fingerprint files for
Philippines during the reoccupation of the Philippines by the American Forces.

 GENEROSO REYES- first Filipino fingerprint technician employed in Philippine

Constabulary.
  ISABELA BERNALES- first Filipina fingerprint technician.

 CAPT. THOMAS DUGAN, NYPD and FLAVIO GUERRERO, FBI Washington-

gave first examination in fingerprint in 1927 and Agustin Patricio of the Philippines
top the examination.

 PEOPLE OF THE PHILS. Vs. MEDINA- first conviction based on fingerprint and
leading judicial decision in the Philippine Jurisprudence. (10 points of identification)

OTHER SIGNIFICANT DATES AND EVENTS

DATES EVENTS
1858 William Hershel started to experiment the science of fingerprint in
India
1869 England legislated the Habitual Criminals Act which provides longer
sentences for hardened criminals with previous convictions
1880 Henry Faulds becomes 1st person to publicly suggest fingerprints as
a method of criminal identification
1883 Alphonse Bertillon, in Paris, introduced the anthropometric system of
measurements
1892 The 1st murder case solved thru the use of fingerprint in Argentina by
the efforts exerted by Juan Vucetich. The murder case was committed
against the two children by their illegitimate mother, Francisca Rojas
on June 19.
1894 Britain adopts an identification system which is a combination of
anthropometry by Bertillion and fingerprints.
1896 The reliability of fingerprint was tested when Adolf Beck was jailed for
several years after he was falsely identified by witness as a
perpetrator of the crime, but later fingerprint have shown he was a
wrong man.
1898 The National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, based in Chicago,
Illinois, was established. It is considered the depot of all criminal
records which has been classified and filed using anthropological
measurement.
1900 The Belper committee in England was established to look into “the
working of the method of identification of criminals by measurement
and fingerprints”. Edward Richard Henry was one of the experts who
gave evidence in support of using fingerprints as a means of
identification. In December 1900, the Belper committee
recommended that the current method of Bertillonage be replaced by
Henry’s system.
1901 Edward Henry was appointed as head of Scotland Yard’s new
Fingerprint Branch on July 1901. The previous requirement to take
 prints only of habitual criminals widened to include all prisoners whose
sentence was more than one month.
1902 The first conviction in the UK of an individual was made as a result of
fingerprints found at the scene of the crime in June 1902. A burglar
by the name of Harry Jackson left his thumbprint on the paintwork of
a house he entered in South London and, despite the enormous task
of comparing thousands of prints, Detective- Sergeant Charles
Stockley Collins and his colleagues at the Branch identified it with
Jackson’s record card. In September the burglar was sentenced to
seven years.
1902 Fingerprinting as a means of identification had been vindicated in the
English courts.
1903 The New York City Civil Service Commission started using
fingerprints to prevent impersonations during examinations. Also in
1903, fingerprinting was implemented by the New York State Prison
System and at Leavenworth Penitentiary.
1905 Henry Faulds sided with Stratton Brothers when the duo was charged
with murder Thomas and Ana Farrow. The Stratton brothers were
eventually convicted and hanged through the use of fingerprint as
evidence.
1911 The first conviction of US court using fingerprint as evidence. Thomas
Jennings was convicted of the crime of murder. It was also this year
when the famous Francis Galton dies.
1913 The founder of anthropometric system, Alphonse Bertillion dies.
1915 The international association for criminal identification (IAI) was
established
1918 William James Hershel dies.
1924 The FBI Identification Division is created, after the records of the
National Bureau of Identification and the Leavenworth Penitentiary
Bureau were consolidated.
1930 Fingerprint pioneer Dr. Henry Faulds dies
1931 The first palmprint case was brought before the English court
1964 Computerization of Scotland Yard’s Fingerprint Bureau was initiated
and successfully entered almost 2 million fingerprint sets.
1970 The technique of lifting prints became acceptable practice in the
British police for the first time
1973 The 58th annual conference of international association for
identification was held in Jackson, Wyoming, its standardization
committee, hereby states that “no valid basis exists at this time for
requiring that a pre-determined minimum of friction ridge
characteristics must be present in two impressions in order to
establish positive identification”
1995 International symposium on fingerprint detection and identification is
held in Ne’urim Israel in June 1995. The following resolution was
agreed upon by the friction ridge identification specialists who
 attended: “no scientific basis exists for requiring that a pre-determined
minimum of friction ridge characteristics must be present in two
impressions in order to establish positive identification”
1999 Federal Bureau of Investigation installs massive fingerprint computer
capable of storing the fingerprints of 65 million individuals