Taking Legible
Fingerprints
The How To’s of the FBI
Why Take Fingerprints?
• Identify Suspects
• Establish Innocence
• Identify Victims
• Document People
• Other Ideas?
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Who Can Be Fingerprinted?
• Any individual arrested for a
crime.
• Civilians seeking employment with
government agencies.
• Immigrants or individuals entering
the country on a visa may be
fingerprinted.
• Civilians required to undergo
background checks.
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Fingerprint Equipment
• Ink or
Chemicals
• Standard
Fingerprint
Card
• Livescan
(electronic)
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“10-Card” Examples
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Taking Fingerprints
• The two types of impressions:
– Rolled Impression
– Plain Impressions
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Fingerprinting Steps
1. Fingers to be printed must be clean
and dry.
2. The individual being fingerprinted
should stand in front of and at a
forearm's length from the fingerprinting
device. The examiner should stand to
the right and rear of the person taking
the fingerprints.
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Fingerprinting Steps
3. Encourage the individual to relax. Ask
them to look at a distant object to
distract them.
4. Grasp the individual's right hand at the
base of the thumb with your right
hand. Cup your hand over the their
fingers, tucking under those fingers
not being printed. Guide the finger
being printed with your left hand.
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Fingerprinting Steps
5. Roll the finger on the pad so that the
entire fingerprint pattern area is evenly
covered with ink. The ink should cover
from one edge of the nail to the other
and from the crease of the first joint to
the tip of the finger.
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Fingerprinting Steps
6. To take rolled
impressions the
side of the bulb of
the finger is placed
upon the card and
the finger is rolled
to the other side
until it faces the
opposite direction.
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Fingerprinting Steps
7. The hand should be rotated from the
more difficult position to the easiest
position.This requires that the thumbs
be rolled toward and the fingers away
from the body.
8. Roll each finger from nail to nail taking
care to lift each finger up, to avoid
smudging.
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Fingerprinting Steps
9. Plain impressions are printed last, at
the bottom of the card. Press the
individual's four fingers (on the right
hand), keeping the fingers together, on
the surface of the fingerprint card at a
forty-five degree angle.
10. Print both thumbs simultaneously in
the plain impression thumb blocks.
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Fingerprinting Steps
11. Complete the
information at
the top of the
fingerprint card.
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Special Circumstances
• Can you think of any special circumstances
that would interfere with the fingerprinting
process?
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What Do You Do With:
• Amputations:
– The condition should be noted in the
appropriate block of the fingerprint card.
• Amputation (AMP)
• XX
• Missing at Birth (MAB)
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What Do You Do With:
• Bandaged Fingers or Hands:
– Place the notation, "Unable to Print" or "UP" in
the appropriate finger block.
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What Do You Do With:
• Scars:
– Fingerprints should be taken as they exist.
– Scars can be noted as "Scarred," but it is not
required.
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What Do You Do With:
• Deformities:
– Special equipment (e.g. a fingerprint spoon)
may be needed.
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What Do You Do With:
• Worn Fingerprints:
– Light pressure and
very little ink are used.
– “Milking the fingers"
can be used.
• Apply pressure or rub
the fingers in a
downward motion from
palm to fingertip.
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What Do You Do With:
• Extra Fingers:
– The thumbs and the next four fingers
should be printed only.
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What Do You Do With:
• Webbed Fingers or Split Thumbs:
– Print if possible or make a notation.
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What Do You Do With:
• Webbed Fingers or Split Thumbs:
– Print if possible or make a notation.
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