A new technique reveals and gives a more detailed appearance of fingerprints on metallic surfaces such as gun shell casings, even when the prints are several days old, covered in water, exposed to dust, or wiped down. This could be a helpful tool to law enforcement technicians solving crimes involving guns.
This finding is from joint research done by Dr. John Bond, University of Leicester, and Dr. Xu Jingyang, Zhejiang Police College. It builds on earlier research by Dr. Bond in 2012 at Leicester. At that time, Dr. Bond was able to reveal hidden prints on metal by applying a large voltage and then adding ceramic beads coated with a fine powder. This technique has been refined to apply powder to a corroded spent shell casing that has been electrostatically charged.
Per Dr. Bond, “Visually fingerprinting corrosion in brass is easily achievable and this latest development should be viewed as an additional means of identifying offenders in gun-related offences."
A portable electrostatic generator can be set up using common forensic lab equipment, so this type of analysis would be affordable, and relatively easy to put into practice. The new team is working on a prototype, and will publish a paper on the technique this year.
Refined fingerprint technique could give criminals a nasty shock
Materials provided by University of Leicester. Published online by ScienceDaily, September 12, 2016
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