FINGER-PRINTS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 91, 27 January 1928, Page 7

FINGER-PRINTS

HOW THE EXPERTS WORK. Finger-prints play such an important part in crime detection to-day that one of the first lessons of a police recruit deals with the subject. Sir Edward Henry, a former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, inaugurated this system in 1901, and there are now at Scotland Yard nearly half a million impressions of convicted men and women.

From a remote age, writes Hugh Brady in the “Daily Mail,” the use of a finger or thumb print to establish the authenticity of a document has been adopted. Sir Edward, who had been Inspector-General of the Bengal Police, was an earnest student of the subject for many years, and when he was appointed to Scotland Yard he devised and perfected the classification of the various characteristics of the finger-print for the identification of criminals. A staff of about 15 men, under the chief inspector, have brought the system to such perfection that when the finger-impressions of any individual are placed before them they cam almost instantaneously produce the criminal record, if the person is not a first offender.

Every person detained for a crime at a London police station is invited to have his finger-prints taken, and a fewhours later, ' when the person appears in court, the record is ready for the magistrate should the case be dealt with summarily. ■ . _ , To the expert the result is beyond dispute. A similarity in finger impressions taken from different individuals would mean the breakdown of the whole system. The expert reads the finger-print with uncanny speed an accuracy. He writes down the markings, and the result resembles an algebra sum. In a moment he produces the index card it the suspect’s record is in the. haft-mil-lion collection. To the uninitiated it wold seem impossible to pick out accurately one person’s record from bait a million. But the markings on the fingers, when reduced to a formula, make the task easy. < There are eight mam groups ot linger impressions, divided intp arches, loops sloping to the left, loops sloping to the right, whorls*, central pocket loops, and accidentals. The hand is en-o-raved with furrows which form elections called ridges, and when the finger touches a smooth surface a telltale impression is left. .. , . Leaving a clear impression, ot his fingers is a folly Seldom committed by the old criminal, who works with gloved hands. A blurred impression mav he of great value in helping idenStion, but only when a person * suspected of a crime and the police aie able to make comparisons. . Occasionally a criminal, unintentionally leaves his finger-prints behind Some burglars have been captured and convicted because they took off then Moves to write a saucy note or to eat a meal at a burgled house. Fmgciprints can be easily developed from paper, glass, delph, spoons,, knives, or f ° Ask a friend to grip firmly a piece of white paper. Nothing will appear. Snrinkle the area touched with giahite or lampblack and the. impressions will stand out in bold relief.