Page 80 - Life In Naples Magazine - November 2015

The Right Match:
Software Enhances Fingerprint ID Process

A 17-year-old Golden Gate girl awoke to find a strange man
in her bedroom last December.
The girl asked the man why he was there. Startled, he
scurried out of her room, ran downstairs and out the house.

The girl and her family told Collier County Sheriff ’s Office

detectives they had no idea who would break into their house.

Detectives had no leads. Within two weeks detectives had a

suspect, thanks to fingerprint evidence found at the scene.

Fingerprinting is one of the most important ways law enforcement

identifies criminals, and the faster the better. Recent technology is

helping CCSO get the job done more efficiently than before.

Traditionally, fingerprint examiners conducted an examination

using a small magnifier called a loupe to view minute details, known

as minutiae, of a print. A pointer called a ridge counter was used to

count the friction ridges. In addition, CCSO fingerprint examiners

are now using a computer software program that helps speed up the

identification process. a computer database that stores and retrieves fingerprint images.

The CSIpix software lets fingerprint examiners quickly compare The print was searched against a database of millions of individual

two detailed prints side-by-side at the same scale on a computer fingerprints. Within minutes, the AFIS returned information on

monitor. The software is custom designed for forensic imaging the 25 closest matches to the print searched. Using the software,

with functions like autoscale and synchronized zooming plus Certified Latent Print Examiner LeeAnn Whitney did a side-by side

comprehensive annotation tools and standard enhancement features. comparison on the computer of the print from the door handle to the

It can significantly speed up the processing, calibration, comparison, first print received from AFIS to determine if there were similarities.

and annotation of fingerprints and other forensic images. “Right off the bat those two (prints) looked very similar to me, just

Fingerprints are the little ridges on the end of your fingers and the overall pattern type,” Whitney recalled.

thumb. They are arranged in patterns of loops, whorls, and arches. No She also examined the print for minutiae characteristics and

two people have exactly the same fingerprints. Even identical twins, locations which make each person’s prints distinctive.

with identical DNA, have different fingerprints. Satisfied there was enough information in both prints to match,

Fingerprint examination involves looking at the quality and Whitney called on another trained examiner to give her assessment.

quantity of information in order to find agreement or disagreement Latent Print Examiner II Tammy Taylor verified the print was a

between the unknown print from a crime scene and known prints match. Detectives arrested an 18-year-old Golden Gate man and

on file. charged him with burglary. The young man attended the same high

After the Golden Gate break-in, Crime Scene investigators school as the victim.

processed the house for evidence. A latent fingerprint was taken off The CCSO ID Section examines all fingerprint evidence collected

the bedroom door handle. The ID Section took the print and ran it in CCSO cases. Other, more complicated evidence, such as DNA,

through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), is sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab for

examination.

Examining fingerprint evidence onsite allows for a more timely

result compared to submitting prints to a lab, which can take weeks,

said Lt. Scott Barnett, who has supervised the ID Section for the past

25 years.

“When we go to the AFIS and put these prints in we’ve actually

called detectives back the same day and told them who the bad guy

is,” Lt. Barnett said.

RIGHT: CERTIFIED LATENT PRINT EXAMINER LEEANN WHITNEY CONDUCTS A SIDE-BY-
SIDE COMPARISON OF TWO FINGERPRINTS USING A COMPUTER SOFTWARE CUSTOM
DESIGNED FOR FORENSIC IMAGING.THE CCSO ID SECTION RECENTLY STARTED USING

THE SOFTWARE,WHICH HELPS SPEED UP THE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS.
PHOTOS BY CPL. EFRAIN HERNANDEZ/CCSO (2)

LEFT: TO CONDUCT AN EXAMINATION, FINGERPRINT EXAMINERS ALSO USE A SMALL
MAGNIFIER CALLED A LOUPE TO VIEW MINUTE DETAILS, CALLED MINUTIAE, OF A PRINT

80 Life in Naples | November 2015