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Estimating the Age of Fingermarks: Relevance, Potential Approaches, and Perspectives

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Technologies for Fingermark Age Estimations: A Step Forward

Abstract

The age estimation of (latent or visible) fingermarks recovered at crime scenes may be particularly useful to be able to discern traces relevant to the investigated event or to help place a particular event in time. The measurement of physical or chemical changes of fingermark characteristics over time has been proposed as a mean to achieve this goal. However, fingermark depositions are complex matrices that are influenced by many factors besides time, such as donor, transfer, and environmental conditions to cite only a few. Thus, the main challenge resides in the identification of aging parameters that evolve over time with as little influence as possible from such factors. The development of reliable aging models that can be implemented in practice to place fingermarks in time requires the acquisition of large amounts of fundamental data on the aging processes of target compounds, if possible, using versatile and easily available analytical techniques. The importance of the data interpretation stage should not be underestimated either. Thus, while age estimation of fingermarks would be particularly useful for crime reconstructions or as evidence in court, much more information is currently needed on the aging of natural fingermarks. A research cycle is proposed to address this issue in a more systematic manner, and several cases in which fingermark dating was either attempted or debated are discussed from a forensic perspective.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A trace can be defined as a mark, signal, or object. It is an observable sign (not always visible to the naked eye), the vestige of a presence, or an action at the place of the latter.

  2. 2.

    Friction ridge details comprise the combination of friction ridge flow, friction ridge characteristics (including levels I, II, and III), and friction ridge structure.

  3. 3.

    Squalene is an organic compound found in human sebum and is an essential precursor in the biosynthesis of cholesterol, steroids, and vitamin D.

  4. 4.

    “Groomed” refers to fingermarks that are artificially charged with, for example, sebaceous secretions by rubbing fingertips to the forehead before deposition.

Abbreviations

AFM:

Atomic Force Microscopy

CWL:

Chromatic White Light

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic Acid

FTIR:

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

GC:

Gas Chromatography

HIS:

Hyperspectral Imaging

LC:

Liquid Chromatography

LR:

Likelihood Ratios

MALDI:

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization

MS:

Mass Spectrometry

PA:

Peak Area

PCA:

Principal Component Analysis

PLSR:

Partial Least Squares Regression

QCM:

Quartz Crystal Microbalance

RMSE:

Root Mean Square Errors

SIMCA:

Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy

SIMS:

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

TLC:

Thin-Layer Chromatography

TOF:

Time of Flight

UP:

Ultra-performance

UV-Vis:

Ultraviolet Visible Light

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF no. PP00P1_123358/1 and 205121_169677) which enabled the preparation of this collaborative chapter. A great thank also goes to Dr. Amanda Frick and Dr. Ana Moraleda from the School of Criminal Science of the University of Lausanne for their suggestions for improving this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecole des Sciences Criminelles, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Céline Weyermann

  2. Criminal Intelligence Service (Bundeskriminalamt), Crime Scene Unit, Vienna, Austria

    Aline Girod-Frais

  3. Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Aline Girod-Frais

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  1. Céline Weyermann
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  2. Aline Girod-Frais
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Correspondence to Céline Weyermann .

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  1. Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Forensic Science Department, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT, USA

    Josep De Alcaraz-Fossoul

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Weyermann, C., Girod-Frais, A. (2021). Estimating the Age of Fingermarks: Relevance, Potential Approaches, and Perspectives. In: De Alcaraz-Fossoul, J. (eds) Technologies for Fingermark Age Estimations: A Step Forward. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69337-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69337-4_3

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