Yusrah Seddiki December 9 2015
Forensic Science Current Event #10
"Free Newsletter." Altered Fingerprints: A Challenge to Law Enforcement Identification Efforts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.
Law enforcement agencies have used fingerprints to identify individuals for almost a century now. FBI fingerprint examiners have encountered situations where criminals, including those in the country illegally, intentionally altered their fingertips themselves or with the assistance of medical professionals. They falsely believed that doing so would prevent law enforcement officials from discovering their true identities. In 2014 the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division conducted a study of altered fingerprint records maintained in its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). FBI fingerprint examiners isolated 412 fingerprint records in IAFIS that maintained indicators of deliberate print alteration. A review of those records for patterns and trends revealed that Massachusetts officials had the most encounters with individuals who had altered fingerprints, followed by New York, Texas, California, and Arizona. A substantial number of individuals who altered their prints were arrested for drug-related offenses, followed in measure by immigration-related offenses, theft, and violent crimes. All of these individuals with intentionally changed prints had extensive criminal records. The CJIS Division categorized the alteration types based upon the suspected method used to mutilate the fingerprint. The alterations most frequently encountered were the vertical cut or slice, followed by the z-pattern cut, intentional burns, and unknown or uncategorized. The intent of the z-pattern cut is to scar and distort the natural fingerprint into an unnatural pattern. Using a heat or chemical source to burn the fingertip, the burn method is intended to scar or obliterate the print. If the affected area is small, fingerprint examiners can use other areas of the fingers that contain sufficient prints to attempt to establish identity. Suspects associated with an unknown method of alteration use a variety of techniques. They may bite or use sandpaper to eliminate fingerprint ridges necessary for identification. When law enforcement agencies report altered fingerprints, they help CJIS significantly improve the knowledge base of print alterations and ensure a high rate of identification accuracy. The CJIS Division works with all levels of law enforcement to maintain an awareness of fingerprint modifications and improve measures for identification.
This article was very interesting, it was very easy to read through and understand the topic, however it could have been better if the author explained how they can still find their true identity through their altered fingerprints. However, it is good to know that these criminals can’t get away with what they are doing, and that forensic investigators can identify who they really are.
7 comments:
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/altered-fingerprints.html
"Free Newsletter." Altered Fingerprints: A Challenge to Law Enforcement Identification Efforts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.
I thought that Yusrah did a good job at summarizing this article. I thought that the topic she wrote about was really interesting, and although that didn't have much to do with how she wrote it, I thought that it kept me interested throughout the article. I thought that the review reflected the article pretty well, and summarized it without making it seem like she copied the article, or making it seem very vague. I thought that it was nice that she included her own interpretation of the article as well. It was interesting to see the article through her point of view.
I thought that although this article was well written, there were some things that could have been changed. For example, I thought that she could have included a bit more of her opinion on the article. I also thought that Yusrah could have possibly included a little bit less of the specifics in the article in her review, as it can make the reading a little bit dense. I thought that overall this was a good review and there wasn't really much to change. I found the topic very interesting, I found the idea of people cutting their fingers and burning them with acid interesting. I never thought that they were so sophisticated about it. I think that these forensic recovery techniques could make or break a case in a scenario where the suspect has removed his fingerprints.
Emme Kerj
Current event 11 comment
Yusrah, I thought you did a really job explaining the main points of the article. You included all of the important pants so I was never confused about anything when reading your review. I also thought that you did a good job explaining why people might try to change their fingerprints. You explained the different types of alterations really well too.
I would have liked to read more about whether or not it is a criminal offense to try to alter your fingerprint and how the police finds out about it, for example at border control etc. I thought that you could have talked a bit more about why this is important and what this means to the forensic community. Is it a big problem that people are altering their fingerprints? How easy is it to spot it? I would have liked some more information regarding what happens to the people that are caught altering their fingerprints and how serious it is.
I thought it was interesting to read about research that the FBI did about IAFIS since we’ve read so much about it in class. I found it really interesting that New York was the state with the second highest number of reported altered fingerprints but I suppose that it makes sense since Manhattan is such a huge city. I was also really surprised to learn that Massachussets has the biggest number of fingerprint alterations and it makes me wonder if maybe that’s because it’s on the coast? Also I’m wondering if scientists are trying to come up with new methods to “restore” the altered fingerprints and how hard it is to find the identity of someone who has undergone these kinds of procedures.
Works cited:
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/altered-fingerprints.html
"Free Newsletter." Altered Fingerprints: A Challenge to Law Enforcement Identification Efforts. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. .
I decided to review Yusrah’s blog post on the article, “Altered Fingerprints: A Challenge to Law Enforcement Identification Efforts.” Yusrah started off by explaining how fingerprints are used by law enforcement to identify criminals and the different databases, such as the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) system called the Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Having such useful systems to hold and identify fingerprints has helped solve many cases. I think Yusrah did a great job beginning with what databases are used and how fingerprints are a very important piece of evidence when found at a crime scene. she also did an excellent job then averting to how criminals are beginning to alter their fingerprints thinking that if they have damaged prints that they won’t get caught. What this article talks about is how law enforcement has recently found a way to match these criminals with altered fingerprints to their crimes. I think Yusrah’s explanation of the different techiniques used to alter fingerprints gave the reader a great understanding of just how far some criminals may go to not be caught. I do think the review could have been better if the new system that holds the altered fingerprints information was discussed a little more in depth. I also think that the review could have benefited from additional information on why people doing specific crimes are known to alter their fingerprints. I thought the article and review were very easy to ready and that the topic of altered fingerprints was very interesting.
Work Cited:
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/altered-fingerprints.html
"Free Newsletter." Altered Fingerprints: A Challenge to Law Enforcement Identification Efforts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/altered-fingerprints.html
"Free Newsletter." Altered Fingerprints: A Challenge to Law Enforcement Identification Efforts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.
Yusrah did a splendid job summarizing the article thoroughly. She didn’t forget to go over all the parts so I was didn’t lose track or get lost while reading the article. She explained well why people may attempt to change their fingerprints while also referring to different types of alterations as well.
What I would have liked to seen in her review was about if it’s a criminal offense to alter your fingerprints and how the police could find out about it. I thought that she also could have presented the this importance of awareness and its effect to forensics. Thus, I would have liked to know how the law handle those who alter fingerprints.
Overall, I found it interesting to read about a FBI research on the IAFIS since we have learnt this subject up close. I also found it fascinating that New York was the state with the second highest number of reported altered fingerprints and to be enlightened that Massachusetts has the biggest number of fingerprint alterations makes me wonder what is going on in these states.
Yusrah showed the improvements in the criminal identification field. The ability to link people to a crime is invaluable and necessary. It is indeed one of the primary jobs of an investigator and in that regard it is a big breakthrough. She explained how the new methods are more reliable and provide fewer ways for criminals to cover up evidence. The database allows officers to more easily identify fingerprints and understand what they are looking at. Yusrah even explained how this development is important with modern cases of identification where criminals may try biting or burning off fingerprints.
Yusrah’s review of the article would have benefited from containing more of her personal viewpoint. Currently, it is more just facts and details directly from the article. Also, her review could have talked about if there are times where the fingerprint is too difficult to distinguish and how officers go about adding new cases of fingerprint alteration to the database.
This article affirmed the importance and power of a fingerprint. It is an incredibly unique feature on every human, and it serves as your personal identifier in the criminal world in addition to your DNA. Fingerprints hold much information and are harder to destroy then we may have previously imagined.
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/altered-fingerprints.html
"Free Newsletter." Altered Fingerprints: A Challenge to Law Enforcement Identification Efforts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.
I thought Yusrah did a great job summarizing every detail in the article, and didn’t leave anything out. Yusrah was very thorough and concise with your response. The topic discussed was extremely interesting, and it caught my attention right off the bat. Yusrah did a great job explaining the reasoning behind people wanting to change their fingerprints, and also went through all the different types of alterations too. It was extremely interesting to learn about all the different FBI services that have had studies done to look further into the fingerprints. It was also interesting to see that people who have altered their fingerprints were related to drug offenses, or violent crimes. The article talked about, and the summary was very informative and interesting, but it would've been cool to see how the detectives can actually detect their actual fingerprints, and how they know they have been altered. This system is very beneficial, and makes me feel more safe knowing that criminals cannot get away with their crimes, and will most likely get caught if they alter their fingerprints.
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