Fingerprint identification: advances since the 2009 National Research Council report

Abstract

This paper will discuss the major developments in the area of fingerprint identification that followed the publication of the National Research Council (NRC, of the US National Academies of Sciences) report in 2009 entitled: Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. The report portrayed an image of a field of expertise used for decades without the necessary scientific research-based underpinning. The advances since the report and the needs in selected areas of fingerprinting will be detailed. It includes the measurement of the accuracy, reliability, repeatability and reproducibility of the conclusions offered by fingerprint experts. The paper will also pay attention to the development of statistical models allowing assessment of fingerprint comparisons. As a corollary of these developments, the next challenge is to reconcile a traditional practice dominated by deterministic conclusions with the probabilistic logic of any statistical model. There is a call for greater candour and fingerprint experts will need to communicate differently on the strengths and limitations of their findings. Their testimony will have to go beyond the blunt assertion of the uniqueness of fingerprints or the opinion delivered ispe dixit.

Defence against the modern arts: the curse of statistics—Part II: ‘Score-based likelihood ratios’

“…The use of this type of techniques to infer the source of forensic traces has been explicitly discouraged by some (European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI), 2016) but encouraged by others (National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies, 2009; President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), 2016). We agree with Champod (2015), Evett et al (2017) and Morrison et al (2017) in that error rates are only an average measure of performance over a population and do not provide information regarding the support of the evidence in individual cases.…”

The logical foundations of forensic science: towards reliable knowledge

“…Second, we must ask whether there is ever a logical basis for a statement of complete certainty in a situation where the inference is necessarily inductive. The issue is discussed in some detail by Champod [10] in his paper at this discussion meeting.…”

Anionic polymerization of nonaromatic maleimide to achieve full-color nonconventional luminescence

“…Thus, visualized recognition and detection of metal ions (Fe 3+ ) can be achieved on the basis of the color change and emission intensity variation to Fe 3+ with different concentrations. In particular, forensic fingerprint identification 53 on different substrates is accomplished with ultrafine PM powders because of the strong interactions between highly polar imides and fingerprint residues (e.g., proteins, amino acids). As shown in Fig.…”