Fingerprint Analysis

• Author: Wade Knaap
• Pages: 187-233

187

A. OVERVIEW OF THE DISCIPLINE: FINGERPRINT ANALYSIS

The use of f‌ingerprints for personal identif‌ication in Canada dates back

over 100 years. General acceptance and reliability have been secured in

the criminal justice system, but a common perception of f‌ingerprint infal-

libility is also anchored in the attitude of the general population. The in-

creased presence of biometric security features on door-locking systems,

smartphones, and laptops demonstrate the ef‌fectiveness and specif‌icity of

f‌ingerprint identif‌ication or individualization in applications unrelated to

the criminal realm.

This chapter is intended to provide the reader with a basic understand-

ing of f‌ingerprints and the identif‌ication process. The topics and content

have been selected to coincide with expectations placed upon the f‌inger-

print expert by the Canadian criminal justice system. These include a brief

explanation of the history and origins of f‌ingerprint identif‌ication; the for-

mation, structure, and persistence of skin; the identif‌ication process; the

CHAPTER 8

Fingerprint Analysis

Wade Knaap*

LEgAL ConTExT: CAiTLin PAkosH

* Jessica Piekny, HBSc, assisted Wade Knaap in conducting research, identifying

important issues to address, and editing this chapter. In concert with Mr. Knaap, Ms.

Piekny also provided valuable feedback to Caitlin Pakosh in ref‌ining this chapter’s

legal context section. Refer to the “Acknowledgements” section. The author would

also like to thank Sergeant John Aitkenhead, Forensic Identif‌ication Services, On-

tario Provincial Police, and Brandy Mora, Latent Print Development Unit, NYPD, for

taking the time to review this chapter.

188 6 Wade Knaap

development and preservation of f‌ingerprint evidence; court presenta-

tion; judicial issues; and caselaw.

1) The History of Fingerprint Identif‌ication

As mentioned, f‌ingerprint identif‌ication has been an accepted means of

identif‌ication in Canada for over 100 years, but its origin dates back for

centuries. Ancient China, India, and Japan all recognized the usefulness

of f‌ingerprints for identif‌ication purposes as a means of authenticating

contracts, verifying ownership on artisan pottery work, providing proof of

ownership, or simply for personal identif‌ication use.1

By the late nineteenth century, interest in f‌ingerprinting for identif‌i-

cation use and its potential application for criminal justice systems began

to gain interest. Other identif‌ication techniques used at the time, such

as Bertillonage (i.e., anthropometry, which involves the use of anatom-

ical measurements, such as arm length and head circumference among

others, and physical characteristics such as eye and hair colour), were

being criticized for inaccuracy and the inability to individualize.2 British

f‌ingerprint pioneers working abroad, particularly in India, gained know-

ledge of f‌ingerprint identif‌ication and relayed that information back home.

In 1893, the Home Of‌f‌ice secretary in England decided to appoint a

committee under Charles Troup of the Home Of‌f‌ice to look into the fol-

lowing areas:

 The current method of registering and identifying habitual criminals

in England

 The anthropometric system (i.e., body measurements and physical

characteristics)

 The suggested system of identif‌ication by means of a record of f‌inger-

print marks

 Report on which system, Bertillonage or f‌ingerprint identif‌ication,

should be used, and how this system would be implemented

The committee heard testimony and received demonstrations from Sir

Francis Galton, a research pioneer on the topic of f‌ingerprint identif‌ication.

1 Colin Beavan, Fingerprints: Murder and the Race to Uncover the Science of Identity (Lon-

don: Fourth Estate, 2002).

2 Richard Saferstein, Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science, 11th ed. (New York:

Pearson Education, 2014).

Fingerprint Analysis 6 189

Following this extensive inquiry, the committee recommended adding

f‌ingerprints to the f‌iles of Scotland Yard, but as a supplementary identif‌ica-

tion means to that of Bertillonage.3

Shortly thereafter, Sir Edward Henry, a British of‌f‌icial who was ap-

pointed Inspector General of Police for Bengal Province in India, assigned

Hem Chandra Bose and Azizul Haque, two Indian employees of the Cal-

cutta Anthropo-metric Bureau (before it became the Fingerprint Bureau),

to begin work on designing a classif‌ication system that could be used for

a searchable database of f‌ingerprints. Henry was skeptical of the accuracy

of the anthropometric system and was sure that f‌ingerprint identif‌ication

was superior. It is believed that the inability to search f‌ingerprints on a

database of known suspects was crucial to the Troup Committee rejecting

f‌ingerprints as the primary means of identif‌ication in Great Britain.4 It was

introduced and accepted in British India as the primary means of identif‌i-

cation, owing to Henry’s classif‌ication system.

By 1900, Sir Henry was asked to testify before a subsequent commit-

tee that was examining options for the identif‌ication of criminals. The

Belper Committee heard testimony from Henry and recommended that

the British government implement the Henry classif‌ication system that

had been adopted in India.5

In 1904, during the World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, a series of

events took place that resulted in f‌ingerprint identif‌ication coming to

Canada. Edward Foster, a police constable with the Dominion of Canada

Police, was on assignment at the fair, guarding a display of Canadian gold.

Coincidentally, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

was meeting in St. Louis. Sergeant John Ferrier of Scotland Yard was invit-

ed to present to the IACP regarding the concept of f‌ingerprint identif‌ica-

tion for the criminal justice system. Foster attended the presentation and

recognized the usefulness of f‌ingerprint identif‌ication. He subsequently

brought the idea back to Canada and was tasked with implementing a

database. In 1911, the national database of criminal f‌ingerprints was estab-

lished in Canada.6

3 Simon A. Cole, Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identif‌ication

(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001).

4 Beavan, above note 1.

5 Timothy Thompson & Sue Black, eds., Forensic Human Identif‌ication: An Introduction

(Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2007).

6 William Beahen & Stan Horrall, Red Coats on the Prairies: The North-West Mounted

Police (Regina: Centax Books, 1998).