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First Cases of Finger Printing
In 1892 the first case of fingerprinting was used in Argentina when two officers discovered a bloody fingerprint and analyzed it to identify the murderer -
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History of Fingerprinting
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The Spread
By 1896 many other law enforcement's across the world started using fingerprints as evidence -
Henri-Leon
Henri-Léon Scheffer murdered a man at a dentist office, he was the first arrest and conviction with the use of fingerprints as evidence. -
Reaching USA
New York City had become one of the first places in the United States to truly adopt fingerprinting in forensic research -
Stratton Brothers
The Stratton Brothers were the first example of using fingerprints as evidence in Britain. The brothers had killed a couple and later faced the death penalty for their crime. -
Large scale cases
In 1911 Vincenzo Perugia was convicted of stealing the Mona Lisa. This was an early example of the use of fingerprinting on a high profile case. -
Thomas Jennings
Thomas Jennings murder case had established fingerprint evidence as a reliable resource in Illinois. He was convicted of murder after killing Clearance Hiller and fleeing the scene. Thomas had vaulted over a freshly painted railing which gave his fingerprints away -
John Dillinger
John Dillinger's wanted poster contained his name, photo and ten of his fingerprints. Shortly after, Dillinger burned his fingertips in acid in an attempt to change the fingerprints. Although this attempt was unsuccessful, Dillinger made history in the field of forensics. -
Fingerprinting is taking over forensics
By 1971 the United States had collected and saved over 200 million fingerprints -
Richard Ramirez
One of the most notorious serial killers Richard Ramirez was caught in 1985 after his attempt to steal a car. Fingerprints were found by the car which proved Ramirez was present at the crime scene. The high-profile serial killer was caught with the use of fingerprints. -
Technological innovations
In the 90s fingerprinting skyrocketed in popularity the authorities had adopted Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIF). This program allowed the law to scan and store fingerprints electronically with great accuracy. -
Finger printing in recent years
A new method came out on how to use fingerprints as evidence, gel-lifted prints and marks can be stored for many years, the technique could be of real use in cold cases where additional information may prove useful to either link or exonerate a suspect to the investigation.