Journal of Forensic Sciences Open Access. First published July 25, 2023
The paper investigates the effect of household corrosive substances on the development of latent fingermarks in the context of deliberate corrosive substance attacks. It highlights the prevalence of corrosive substance attacks in the UK and the challenges in identifying suspects in such cases. The study exposes natural and sebaceous-loaded fingermarks to different household corrosive substances, including Domestos bleach, Harpic limescale remover, and lemon juice. The results show that Harpic limescale remover has the most detrimental effect on fingermarks, followed by bleach, while lemon juice has the least detrimental effect. The study concludes that there is potential to recover latent fingermarks depending on their composition after exposure to household corrosive substances, but further research is needed to establish best practices for maximizing the recovery of identifiable fingermarks.
Methods used in this Paper:
The study exposed natural and sebaceous-loaded fingermarks to household corrosive substances, including Domestos bleach, Harpic limescale remover (hydrochloric acid-based), and lemon juice.
The fingermarks were exposed to the corrosive substances for 1 minute, rinsed with water to remove excess product, and left to air dry for 1-2 hours before enhancement.
The enhanced fingermarks were visually examined against a contrasting background, and the ridge quality was scored using the Home Office grading scheme.
The study compared the effects of different corrosive substances on fingermark development, with a focus on the potential for recovery and identification of latent fingermarks.
The study aimed to determine the impact of household corrosive substances on the recovery of identifiable fingermarks and establish best practices for maximizing the potential to recover latent fingermarks.
Results of the paper:
Harpic limescale remover had the most detrimental effect on fingermarks, with only 7.1% of fingermarks exposed being identifiable after enhancement.
Bleach had a slightly better effect, with only 10.3% of fingermarks being identifiable after exposure.
Lemon juice had the least detrimental effect, with 40.5% of fingermarks being identifiable compared to 53.4% for the control group.
Natural fingermarks were generally less identifiable after exposure to corrosive substances compared to sebaceous fingermarks.
Conclusions from this paper:
The study demonstrated that there is potential to recover latent fingermarks depending on their composition after exposure to household corrosive substances.
Further research is needed to establish best practices for maximizing the potential to recover identifiable fingermarks.
The study demonstrated that it is possible to recover latent fingermarks from surfaces exposed to household corrosive substances, such as bleach, limescale remover, and lemon juice.
The choice of substrate, enhancement technique, and the composition of the fingermark (natural or sebaceous, fresh, or aged) can affect the success of fingermark recovery.
The study highlighted that Harpic limescale remover had the most detrimental effect on fingermarks, while lemon juice had the least detrimental effect.
Natural fingermarks were generally less identifiable after exposure to corrosive substances compared to sebaceous fingermarks.
Further research is needed to establish best practices for maximizing the potential to recover identifiable fingermarks and strengthen cases against offenders in deliberate corrosive substance attacks.
Link to the paper here. Full PDF download available.