FINGER PRINTS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 119, 17 May 1912, Page 3

FINGER PRINTS.

\ SCOTLAND CHIEF'S lV '■■ * />.. TSSTJMONYP.,.^\ . ~

L AX^INEAIJLIBLE • SYSTEM

Highly interesting information concerning the 'Value, of the: fingerprint systenr in 'the detection of 'crime m the British Isles was given by Sir Melville Macnaghten when interviewed in Melbourne the other day! ■ Sir Melville, who is Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan police and Chief of the Criminal. Investigation Department at Scotland Yard, where ho is in charge- of the fingerprint system, recently arrived in Australia, and is at present in Melbourne.

ItEVOLUTipNISED CRIME

"The introduction of tlie fingerprint, system has almost revolutionised crime, 3"" said Sir Melville, when questioned concerning its efficacy, ''ana foj. the last ten years it has been iound to work with perfect smoothness right 'throughout the British 3sl-es; and some. 185,000 slips are now recorded at Scotlaand Yard. The idea is not entirely new," said Sir Melville, smiling, "as the 'value of finger-prints were known to the Chinese in the time of the Great Mogul, when deeds were stamped by if pans of thumb impressions. In later times, abost 45 years ago, Sir William Herschell introduced the idea into India. The value of finger-prints was also recognised by Sir Francis Galton, but it remained for Sir Edward Henry, who was then Inspectorgeneral of the Bengal police, to introduce and simplify the- method of classification, which, as I have already said, has almost revolutionised crime.

some instances;

"I will give you an instance of how quickly the identity of a criminal can be proved," said Sir Melville. "On Derby Day, the year after the introduction of the system into . England, it was feared that it could not be utilised, inasmuch as offender* were taken,in up till 6or 7 o'clock, and it was customary to. deal .-with- them summarily by Petty Sessions Court at half-past £Kthe next morning. Experts, however, were sent to Epsbin to take the finger-prints of 54/; men who wero arrested for vaVipus ; ,off i'ences on the racecourse, and these fingerprints were taken to Scotland Yard at S o'clock that evening. Two ofiV-ers, who had been kept on reserve duty for that purpose, examined them. The result was that .29 of th^'vse men were foundl to be old.offenders. Records and photographs were taken down to Epsom early the ■following aiorning by a chief inspector, and when the offenders appeared before the justices of the peace at half-past 9 they were confronted with a record of their previous: convictions, the result'being" said Sir Melville pertinently, "that they received sentences twice as Jong as would otherwise have been awarded them.'*

NO RISK OF ERROR

Replying to a■■ question .as to the possibility of deleting these teli-tak) lines, Sir" Melville said: -—"Unless the top of th'j finger is removed the print will remain unaltered. Even then the classification would not be affected. I remember a case," he continued, reflectively,, "where-a man on remand had need to fear the results of iiis finger-prints being taken, so, he excoriated the balls of his fingers with a metal tag- attached to his hoot lace. H© was remanded week after week until the flesh was healed, when his identification was effected by comparing prints held ab Scotland Yard with the ■-impressions then taken. You may. judge of the value of the system when I tell you that the number of identifications now made annually at Scotland Yard exceeds. 10,000. According to Sir Francis Galton, there Avonld be no chance of two similar, finger-prints in 12,000,000,000,000. That refer* only to one finger-print, sc the risk is again enormously lessened when one gets a combination .of 10." . .

, kef erring to some convictions which had been recorded against accused persons, Sir Melville said: — "In the Deptford murder case, in 1.905, what appeared to be a iiugerprint was left on the tray of ;a cash- {■ ox.v This was .taken to ; ' Scotland ■Yard, photographed, and enlarged. TW finger-prints of the murdered couple, ati old man and woman,.were taken, but did not correspond with the one ou-the tray. No clue to the murderer was obtained for a week. At the end of that time two young ni'Mi of the 'Hooligan' type ,were rested. The evidence on v/hich they were apprehended was not very strong. They were remanded for a week, mid, before they were placed m tile prison, their finger-prints wore taken t>na it was found that tho thumb-print of the elder brother corresponded exactly with tiie mark on the cash-box. The two men were ultiinatelly hanged." '. • "During the last nine, years/7 said Sir Melville, in concluding the interview, "I have had charge of the unger-print system at Scotland *arcl; "but as I siiici before/the whole or eta v of the introduction .of the1 system is duo to Sir Edward Henry and to bir Edward alone."'