Fingerprint Transfer Mechanism to Adhesive Tapes Through Latex Gloves

Ayal Aronson, Toolmarks Lab, Forensic Scientist, Jerusalem, Israel
Ziv Grimberg, Toolmarks Lab, Forensic Scientist, Jerusalem, Israel
Yaron Cohen, Toolmarks Lab, Forensic Scientist, Jerusalem, Israel
Michal Levin-Elad, Toolmarks Lab, Forensic Scientist, Jerusalem, Israel

In forensic science, latex gloves are used to prevent law enforcement personnel from contaminating crime scenes or evidence with DNA or marks from the hands. Law enforcement personnel, however, are not the only people who want to avoid leaving DNA or latent marks at a crime scene. Perpetrators of crimes may also wear latex gloves. Alas, several forensic scientists reported that in certain cases even while wearing latex gloves, fingerprints transferred to adhesive tapes while attempting to process the tape for latent marks. Pressure sensitive tapes tend to be ideal surfaces for recovering latent marks and are commonly encountered in criminal cases involving drug packaging, explosive devices, or violent crimes (e.g., binding a victim's hands and feet). When a latent mark is developed on the adhesive surface of the  tape, it may not be obvious if the latent mark was made by a bare finger or a gloved finger. Knowing that a suspect wore gloves could sometimes discourage the investigation unit from performing fingermark development procedures, as the odds to recover evidence 

successfully are limited. This study examines the feasibility of the transfer of friction ridge details through latex gloves to different types of adhesive tapes and uncovers the required conditions and a possible mechanism for the occurrence of this phenomenon. The findings of

this work show that it is possible to develop and identify fingermarks transferred originally by gloved fingers. This study also shows that visualization of ridge details on adhesive tapes surfaces contain unique characteristics, which aid differentiating between bare or gloved hands.

 

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Short Biography of Presenting Author

I obtained my B.Sc. in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering (Technion, 2003) and my M.Sc. in Science and Materials Engineering (Tel Aviv University, 2013).

Between the years 2003-2015 I have served in the Israeli Air Force, I have vast experience in failure analysis, and in direction of hundreds of technical investigations including mishaps on a variety of

aircrafts, UAVs and missiles platforms. Since 2016, I have been serving in the Division of Identification and Forensic Science (DIFS), and I am currently holding the position of a toolmarks forensic scientist.