Criminals had better invest in some gloves, new technology hopes to increase the success of finding "hidden fingerprints" at a crime scene.
Only about 10 percent of fingerprints lead to positive identifications that are able to be used as court evidence, according to a University of Leicester press release.
A research team found a way to detect incriminating fingerprints using color-changing fluorescent films. The scientists hope the procedure will allow investigators to identify fingerprints on "knives, guns, bullet casings and other metal surfaces" with more confidence.
Fingerprints are left-behind bits of sweat and oils from the deep ridges in human fingertips.
Invisible fingerprints are usually found at crime scenes because they are less likely to be "wiped." These fingerprints are very rarely complete enough and of sufficient quality to be used in court.
"This combination of optical absorption analysis with observation based on fluorescence is also opening up fingerprint analysis to a far wider set of samples, particularly those eroded by ageing or aggressive environment," Professor Robert Hillman, who worked on the study said.
As of right now investigators use colored powder that sticks to the fingerprint's oil, but this new research suggests there's a better way.
The team found a way to identify fingerprints using their "electrically insulating characteristics."
The oils in the fingerprint block electrical currents used to administer a brightly colored electro-active film. The electrical currents not blocked by the print (the areas in between the grooves) attract the colored substance, creating a negative image of the print.
The system needs very little residue to distinguish between print and surface, so it can capture much fainter evidence than other methods of detection.
"Fingerprints have been around in policing for over 100 years but this technique opens up new avenues for the detection of crime in the modern era. This technique potentially offers opportunities for quick results for the more serious crimes in a way that may still permit other forensic analysis to be performed to maximize the opportunities to recover forensic evidence," Assistant Chief Constable Roger Bannister of Leicestershire Police said.
