title: The possibilities and limitations of forensic hand comparison.
abstract: On recordings of certain crimes, the face is not always shown. In such cases, hands can offer a solution, if they are completely visible. An important aspect of this study was to develop a method for hand comparison. The research method was based on the morphology, anthropometry, and biometry of hands. A new aspect of this study was that a manual and automated test were applied, which, respectively, assess many features and provide identification rates quickly. An important observation was that good quality images can provide sufficient hand details. The most distinctive features were the length/width ratio, the palm line pattern and the quantity of highly distinctive features present, and how they are distributed. The results indicate that experience did not improve the identification rates, while the manual test did. Intra-observer variability did not influence the results, whereas hands of relatives were frequently misjudged. Both tests provided high identification rates.
authors: Netherlands Forensic Institute, Department of Digital Technology and Biometrics, Laan van Ypenburg 6, 2497 GB, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Slot
authors: Zeno J M H
authors: ZJ
authors: Geradts
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000886:Anthropometry; D057189:Checklist; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D044707:Forensic Sciences; D006225:Hand / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D011361:Professional Competence; D012880:Skin Pigmentation; D044465:White People
keywords: anthropometry; biometric identification; biometry; forensic science; hand comparison; image analysis