50 research outputs found
Fingerprint Identification: Potential Sources of Error and the Cause of Wrongful Convictions
Fingerprint identification has long been used by law enforcement to either identify or eliminate potential suspects in a case. It relies on friction ridges ā the upraised skin that forms grooves on fingers ā and friction ridge impressions, which form from natural secretions of sweat and other trace components. Latent prints, a common term for friction ridge impressions, have many benefits and advantages as a type of forensic evidence. However, they are not a perfect tool: wrongful convictions identified by post-conviction DNA testing and the re-evaluation of forensic evidence have spawned criticism and investigation into the scientific basis of this branch of forensics. This literature review examines literature in both the scientific and legal fields, and investigates three main themes: the principle of uniqueness assumed in individualization, the presence of cognitive bias and human error in analysis, and the changing role of expert testimony in court. There are arguments both for and against uniqueness, but it is still difficult to prove using statistical models and data analysis. Bias in examiners, on the other hand, undeniably exists in different ways, and should be actively guarded against in fingerprint analysis and expert testimony. Expert witness testimony that misleads, exaggerates, or is scientifically unsupportable has been linked to wrongful convictions in the past, highlighting the importance of careful regulation of how an expert witness is advised to testify. In addition to these topics, the techniques of collecting latent print evidence and the standard procedures of analysis have also been examined and evaluated for potential sources of error. Le maintien de lāordre public utilise depuis longtemps les empreintes digitales pour identifier et eĢliminer des suspects dāune affaire criminelle. Les empreintes digitales se ent aux creĢtes papillaires ā les creĢtes et les creux qui formes des rainures sur les doigts ā et des empreintes des creĢtes papillaires, ce qui se forme par les seĢcreĢtions naturelles de transpiration et autres composantes de traces. Les empreintes latentes, un terme courant pour les empreintes digitales, posseĢdent plusieurs avantages en tant quāeĢleĢment meĢdico-leĢgal de preuve. Toutefois, ce nāest pas une ressource able; des condamnations injustifieĢes identifieĢes par un test dāADN post-condamnatoire et la reĢeĢvaluation de lāeĢvidence meĢdico-leĢgale ont frayeĢ des critiques et des enqueĢtes de la base des sciences des empreintes digitales. Cette revue examine les textes dans les domaines scientifiques et meĢdico-leĢgaux, et examine trois theĢmes : le principe dāuniciteĢ assumeĢ par lāindividualisation, la preĢsence dāun biais cognitif et lāerreur humaine dans lāanalyse, et le roĢle changeant de teĢmoignages experts devant la Cour. Il existe des arguments pour et contre lāuniciteĢ, mais lāuniciteĢ est tout de meĢme difficile aĢ prouver en utilisant les modeĢles statistiques et lāanalyse de donneĢes. Un preĢjugeĢ chez les examinateurs, dāautres parts, existe incontestablement, et devrait eĢtre activement eĢviteĢ lors de lāanalyse dāempreinte digitale et de teĢmoignages experts. Le teĢmoignage dāexpert qui induit en erreur, qui est exageĢreĢ ou qui est scientifiquement faux a meneĢ aĢ des condamnations injusti eĢes dans le passeĢ, ce qui met en eĢvidence lāimportance dāune leĢgislation prudente sur comment lāexpert est conseilleĢ de teĢmoigner. En plus de ces theĢmes, les techniques de collecte des empreintes digitales latentes et les proceĢdures normales dāanalyse ont aussi eĢteĢ examineĢs et eĢvalueĢs pour des sources dāerreurs potentielles.
AFIS Based Likelihood Ratios for Latent Fingerprint Comparisons
Latent fingerprints are one of the most common pieces of evidence found on a crime scene and represent accidental or unintentional prints collected as part of a criminal investigation. They are caused when the friction ridge skin comes in contact with a surface, and thus requires the use of chemical processing to be visualized with the naked eye. The comparison and identification of fingerprints depends on various factors such as the substrate quality, surface, duration, environmental factors and examiner experience. These factors can result in reduced clarity or content, and can even cause distortions as compared to a fingerprint taken under controlled conditions. Since the release of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report in 2009, the field of fingerprint analysis has come under much scrutiny. Specifically, the need for more research into the determination of the accuracy and reliability of the identifications made by fingerprint examiners has been raised.;One such method used for the comparison of latent fingerprint to known prints is through an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The AFIS used in this research was the AFIX Tracker R where where variables were assessed: match score, match minutiae, match status, delta match score and marked minutiae, to determine which variable(s) was a better indicator of a true match. Bayesian networks were then constructed to compute the likelihood ratios to evaluate the dependency of the variables on one another,where the performance of the likelihood ratios in determining the identity of the unknown latent was assessed using Tippett and ECE plots. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and Bayesian networks were constructed to perform statistical analysis of the matches obtained while comparing a latent print to a ten-print card. A combination of Tippett and Empirical Cross Entropy (ECE) plots were used to assess the performance of the AFIX Tracker R in classifying unknown prints. It was observed that a match minutiae of 15 or higher resulted in a 100% true match result whereas for the non-matches,no more than 13 match minutiae were found. Moreover, the delta match scores difference between the matches and non-matches were notable (delta score of 0.1-153 for matches compared to a score of 0-0.1 for the non-matches). Overall, it was determined that approximately 87% of the time a randomly selected known match would have a higher number of match minutiae as compared to a non-match