USES OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19501, 9 June 1925, Page 8

USES OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

DETECTION OF CRIME. (From Ouh Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, June 8. An interesting visitor to Wellington at present is Mr W. Van dor Vclden, a son of the famous Dutch painter who lived and painted in New Zealand for some time. Air Van der Velden is one of the demonstrators of tho famous Kodak Proprietary, and will give demonstrations here and tn other cities to professional photographers. He talked most interestingly the oilier evening to the members of the Wellington Amateur Photographic Society, and will bo very busy during the next two days with the professionals* Speaking of the uses of photography in detecting crime, Air ATm der Velden said that first of all it was used, largely in the development, of the finger-print system, and the study of this particular brunch in police work had advanced to a stage where oven a small fragment of finger-print might prove conclusive evidence in tiro identification or otherwise- of a prisoner. The fragment might only represent two or throe ridges in iho skin, but by greatly magnifying tho shape and spacing between the pores on tho ridges the photographer could provide evidence of guilt almost as surely as if the whole finger-print were available for study. This work was technically described as poroscopy, and represented the latest advance made by a Belgian criminologist It had been applied in the Now Zealand Police Force with considerable success in many instances. Another branch of police work in which photography was of much use was the detection of forgeries in bank notes, and signatures and photographic enlargements have made detection possible when microscopic/ examinations have failed, especially where signatures are concerned in regard to bank notes. The slightest change in the colour of the ink or the texture of the paper are detected by tho same processes by intentional exaggeration of contrast such ns was applied in the photography of furniture. It was needless to enlarge upon the importance of the camera for identifica-. tion purposes, and photographs of international criminals are in tho possession of practically every largo police force in tho world, this being done by moans of exchange. All the principal photographers here are closing their premises to-morrow and on Wednesday to permit of themselves and their assistants attending Air Van der Velden’s demonstrations in tho Concert, Chamber of the Town Hall.