The uniqueness of fingerprints as a reliable means to identify individuals was recognized as early as ancient Babylonian civilization, when imprints were used to seal business transactions on clay tablets. But it wasn’t until 1888 that criminal detection methods were radically altered when the Englishman Sir Francis Galton published a classification system in his book “Fingerprints”. Galton calculated the odds of finding two people with identical fingerprints as being 1 in 64 billion.
As forensic techniques became known, criminals did their best to outwit them. Gloves became standard wear in premeditated crimes. As glove materials evolved, so did the criminals’ choices. Currently, latex gloves, with their second-skin fit, are often found discarded at the border of a crime scene.
To many criminals’ surprise, it is often these discarded gloves themselves that provide the forensic team the necessary tell-tale fingerprint. When putting on or taking off the gloves, individuals often leave a perfect thumb or index print on the cuff. The gloves can also be turned inside out to see if there is a recoverable print from the fingers of these superior fitting gloves. It is even possible for a latex-gloved hand to leave a print on a scene’s surface if there are any traces of oil on the fingertips. A well fitted glove warms and conforms to the fingertips over time and if it picks up oil, for example from the wearer touching his own skin, prints will transfer to surfaces.
The devious ways of criminals will shortly be seriously challenged by a new weapon in the sleuth’s arsenal. Gloves will no longer be even a medially effective means of escaping detection. It turns out that some very small critters, bacteria, which humans cannot rid themselves of are getting some serious forensic attention. Bacteria colonies living on our skin exist in unique blends of which only 13% are shared by any two individuals.
About 150 bacteria species are present on a person’s hand and can trail to fabrics and other materials at a crime scene. It is possible to successfully trace this personalized bacteria 12 hours or more after it has been deposited on surfaces. According to a recent Associated Press report, this developing forensic tool is so cutting edge that this type of scientific analysis was not possible even two years ago.
Perhaps with the advent of this news, surgical scrub techniques will soon extend beyond the medical world to the domain of crooks who once thought latex gloves were adequate for keeping the law off their trail. However, it seems fairly unlikely that a “dirty rat” pawing through a domestic burglary or worse would be very successful in keeping his germs to himself.
With decades in the glove industry, Ms. Long now directs an online education library for a large web retailer selling Latex Gloves and Related Supplies, informing disposable gloves consumers. Readers can visit this web resource, Exam Gloves – Latex Gloves.
