Abstract
Fingerprints are very crucial when it comes to the identification of suspects in the justice system. There are no individuals, even identical twins, who share the same fingerprints. The uniqueness of fingerprints has enabled criminal investigators to identify suspects for over 100 years. Fingerprinting is an essential tool for investigating crime and should continue to be used, however, caution needs to be taken because some report indicates that the results can be false. Little research has been done concerning the accuracy of fingerprinting to identify suspects of criminal activities. Therefore, conducting this research is necessary to determine the reliability and accuracy of using fingerprints to identify suspects in the courtroom. Some cases involve wrong identification of suspects using fingerprints resulting in the jailing of innocent people, for example, Brandon Mayfield. Furthermore, various studies indicate that fingerprinting is not reliable for identifying suspects except for nuclear DNA analysis. The researcher used a qualitative research design in this study and used face-to-face interviews to collect data from participants. A convenient sampling technique will be used to select 20 participants who are fingerprint experts. The researcher will use a thematic analysis approach to analyze the participants' data.
Introduction
People touch different things from a coffee cup, car door, computer keyboard and leave behind their fingerprint signatures in everyday activities. No two individuals have the same fingerprints, even identical twins with similar DNA. The fingerprints' uniqueness allows professionals to use them differently from background checks, biometric security, mass disaster identification, and criminal identification. The fingerprints analysis has been used to identify suspects and solve criminal problems for more than a century (Win et al., 2020). The fingerprints enable the investigators to link one crime scene to another and track the criminal records of a suspect to aid in sentencing, probation, and parole. However, the accuracy of using fingerprints for identification has been questioned in the American Association's recent reports for the Advancement of Science. The report is a reminder that even though fingerprints play a critical role in identifying suspects, it is not infallible. There is a need to minimize the inappropriate application of fingerprint sciences to reduce injustices linked to the use of this technology. There is little research conducted on forensic disciplines that include fingerprints for identification, thus lacking a proper scientific foundation. The only forensic method that has been rigorously validated is nuclear DNA analysis.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Problem Statement
For a long time, investigators have been using fingerprints to identify criminal activity suspects; however, recent reports indicate that the technology is not always accurate. If using fingerprints in courtrooms to identify suspects is not reliable, it compromises justice delivery. Conducting this research to determine the reliability of using fingerprints in the courtroom is necessary and ensure appropriate identification methods are used to identify criminals and improve the justice system's efficiency.
Research Questions
Is fingerprint identification accurate?
Is it reliable to use fingerprint identification in the courtroom?
Literature Review
In the judicial system, the fingerprint is a common source of evidence used to identify the suspects. Fingerprint identification is commonly used in solving criminal investigations even though its accuracy is not comparable to that of DNA (Cooper, 2016). When an incident occurs, the perpetrator is likely to leave behind unique finger marks on the smooth surfaces enabling the investigators to obtain them by making a visible impression. The incomplete or fragmented fingerprints can be pieced together, but with laser technology, investigators can retrieve identifiable fingerprints from almost any surface (Su, 2016). The fingerprints analysis is initially matched by experts and then use a computer to narrow them down. The method of processing fingerprints is prone to human error, making it less reliable to be used in the court of law to identify suspects.
One incident of wrong fingerprint identification took place in America in 2004. Brandon Mayfield was linked to the Madrid train bombing with the use of fingerprint analysis, and he was arrested and detained for two weeks. The investigators later realized that Brandon was wrongly identified, and the fingerprint belonged to an Algerian man Ouhnane Daoud (Attias et al., 2015). Since fingerprint evidence is very compelling to juries, it is essential to have experienced representation that points out flaws that may cause false conviction. In 2010, the United States National Institute of Justice published a report that concluded that using automated systems to process fingerprint analysis yield less accurate results than a well-trained examiner.
The use of fingerprints in the courtrooms indicates some unreliability level; for instance, in 1999, Robert Epstein, a defender of public federal, declared that fingerprint identification is not admissible under the Daubert standards of inaccuracies associated with its in identifying suspects (Newman, 2001). Many investigators consider fingerprint identification accurate; several people have been mistakenly sent to jail. In the United States, Simon Cole notes that over 23 people have been wrongly connected to crime scenes using fingerprints. For instance, in 1985, Bruce Basden was linked to a murder case and sent to jail for 13 months only for the investigators to realize they made a mistake during fingerprint analysis (Bidinger, 2019). One of the limitations of using a fingerprint in criminal justice is that the suspect cannot be accurately identified if not in the database, even if the prints belong to the person.
Methodology
The study will utilize a qualitative research design that enables the researcher to collect cross-sectional data using face-to-face interviews from the participants that consist of fingerprint analysis experts. The convenience sampling technique will be used to select 20 participants who will be interviewed to inform the study. The study participants will be derived from the researcher's network and invited for interviews through messaging. The researcher will use semi-structured interviews to obtain qualitative data from the participants. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews will constitute the primary data collection method that enables the researcher to derive more detailed responses concerning the reliability of fingerprint identification of suspects in the courtroom.
The interview will focus on two main areas, the accuracy and reliability of using fingerprints to identify suspects in the justice system. The participants will be asked to respond about the accuracy of using fingerprints to identify the individuals in the courtroom and the process's reliability. The data will be collected cleaned in preparation for analysis. The researcher will use a thematic analysis approach to analyze data collected from the participants and use open coding, axial coding, and selective coding to identify relevant data themes.
References
Attias, D., Hefetz, I., & Ben-Shimon, E. (2015). Latent Fingerprints of Insufficient Value Can Be Used as an Investigative Lead. Journal of Forensic Science & Criminology, 3(3) , 302.
Bidinger, M. S. (2019). Faulty Forensics: Bolstering Judicial Gatekeeping in Georgia Courts. Ga. L. Rev., 54 , 1035.
Cooper, S. L. (2016). Challenges to fingerprint identification evidence: Why the courts need a new approach to finality. Mitchell Hamline L. Rev., 42 , 756.
Newman, A. (2001). Fingerprinting's reliability draws growing court challenges Fingerprinting's reliability draws growing court challenges. The New York Times, 8 .
Su, B. (2016). Recent progress on fingerprint visualization and analysis by imaging ridge residue components. Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, 408(11) , 2781-2791.
Win, K. N., Li, K. C., & Viger, P. F. (2020). Fingerprint classification and identification algorithms for criminal investigation: A survey. Future Generation Computer Systems, 110 , 758-771.
