title: Fingermark ridge drift.
abstract: Distortions of the fingermark topography are usually considered when comparing latent and exemplar fingerprints. These alterations are characterized as caused by an extrinsic action, which affects entire areas of the deposition and alters the overall flow of a series of contiguous ridges. Here we introduce a novel visual phenomenon that does not follow these principles, named fingermark ridge drift. An experiment was designed that included variables such as type of secretion (eccrine and sebaceous), substrate (glass and polystyrene), and degrees of exposure to natural light (darkness, shade, and direct light) indoors. Fingermarks were sequentially visualized with titanium dioxide powder, photographed and analyzed. The comparison between fresh and aged depositions revealed that under certain environmental conditions an individual ridge could randomly change its original position regardless of its unaltered adjacent ridges. The causes of the drift phenomenon are not well understood. We believe it is exclusively associated with intrinsic natural aging processes of latent fingermarks. This discovery will help explain the detection of certain dissimilarities at the minutiae/ridge level; determine more accurate "hits"; identify potentially erroneous corresponding points; and rethink identification protocols, especially the criteria of "no single minutiae discrepancy" for a positive identification.
authors.affiliation: University of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, Legal Medicine Unit, C/Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: joe.fossoul@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Alcaraz-Fossoul
authors.affiliation: School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: University of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, Legal Medicine Unit, C/Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Carme Barrot
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Feixat
authors.affiliation: School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Hogrebe
authors.affiliation: University of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, Legal Medicine Unit, C/Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Manel Gené
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Badia
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents; D003878:Dermatoglyphics; D005898:Glass; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011208:Powders; D012629:Sebum; D013542:Sweat; D013997:Time Factors; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011208:Powders; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium
keywords: Aging; Degradation; Movement; Ridge; Titanium dioxide