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12/11/03
 Fingerprints
-- those loops, whorls, and arches that are so distinctively
you and no one else -- are a funny business. But when it comes
to catching crooks, they are indispensable.
Using fingerprints to identify the guilty and exonerate
the innocent, though, is a relatively new concept in the history
of crime fighting. In fact, it was exactly a century ago that
the New York state prison system became the first law enforcement
agency to start using fingerprints to identify criminals.
How did the FBI get into the act? By the early 1920s, hundreds
of local police agencies were keeping fingerprint records
of local crooks. But when automobiles began to rule the road,
it became easy to leave town fast. The International Association
of Chiefs of Police wisely recognized the need for a national
repository of fingerprints. At its urging, Congress passed
a law creating the
Identification Division in the FBI, effective in 1924.
From there, the FBI has ...
In 1932, begun sharing fingerprint records with other nations;
Developed the capability to process "latent" prints
invisible to the naked eye, using everything from powders
to lasers; Taken reams of printed cards that had to be searched
and indexed by hand and turned it into a state-of-the-art
electronic fingerprint system that can search, process, and
catalog millions of fingerprint records at lightning speed;
and After 9/11, started fingerprinting terrorists and detainees
and making these records available to law enforcement nationwide
and beyond so that operatives and suspects can be tracked
down more easily.
So all you amateur sleuths, just how do you take a good
fingerprint? What does "milking the fingers" mean?
How do you account for webbed fingers, amputations, even missing
fingers? What does the whorl look like?
For the answers to these questions and a complete guide
to "Taking Legible Fingerprints," click on the link
below.
Related Links: Taking Legible
Fingerprints | FBI
Identification Record Request
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