Wednesday 2nd September 2009
Felons and Fingerprints by Michael Carrigan
Our speaker today was Michael Carrigan (shown left) – who has years of experience as a Metropolitan Police forensic expert and even after retirement has advised overseas establishment in the science of finger printing.
This was a light hearted presentation with plenty of humour and basically covered episodes of investigation rather than a presentation of the history of finger printing techniques although this did come up on the final question of the day, see further.
Michael explained about the ridges and furrows (valleys) that are found on all humans and also on the monkey/gorilla family, although the latter have deeper peaks and valleys. He went on to perhaps established why these are only found on the hands and feet and suggested if our development derives from wet forest tree climbing these gave a water clearance rather like the tyres of a motor car to enhance the grip, but whether this is true or false remains to be proven, or was this Michael winding us up?
He showed prints similar to that on the left, but magnified 64 times to illustrate the finger printing pattern, but then explained how the ridge sets are produced from the criminal sweat gland that with either from a left imprint using powdered aluminium these can be identified or from the traditional ink pad system. We then had a series of impromptu questions relating to the durability in length of time, weather conditions and indeed the minimum useful area where the print is viable.
Michael stated fingerprint is unique, that is why fingerprinting works. It is amazing that there are over six billion fingerprints and not one of them are the same even identical twins are different in this tiny aspect! Although the ancient peoples probably did not realize that fingerprints could identify individuals, references from the age of the Babylonian empire that law officials fingerprinted people who had been arrested. In China handprints were used as evidence in a trial for theft, a Chinese historian remarked that fingerprints could be used as a means of authentication.
Michael then digressed into some core cases, one involving a new type bank robbery, where the cracksmen using oxy-acetylene torches where able to cut around the locking mechanism of a bank vault normally over the weekend period. This new method (in those days about 40 years ago?) the robbers left little finger print clues, but in a long winded but humorous story Michael finished up with not a finger print but the complete finger pulled of with a trail of blood the criminal had caught his ring on a protective spike on the top of a wall and in jumping down had ripped his finger off.
The second involved a mythical Irishman called Delvin, who has a technique of working down a rail track and breaking and entering and stealing, having taken the last train down the line and when all hell broke loose after his first break ins was noted he crossed the lined which was still in the land of slumber and quiet and worked up to his start point, but then stashed his swag in the less used part of the local cemetery and caught the first train home from where he started, collecting his loot later after the police and other activities had died down, he operated for many years but met his doom when he was finally hit by a train, perhaps an unexpected unscheduled that sent him to his grave whilst crossing the line, or was he less nimble on his feet in his old age?. This information after about 60 years on the job caused great relief and sadness when circulated via the Police network.
The Probus Club of Ewell was in excellent mood and Michael endured endless streams of questions and interruption, and he took these in the humorous spirit of his presentation and answer with efficiency. These are some of the answers to specific:-
With respect to DNA has this replace finger printing? Fingerprints remains the most commonly used forensic evidence worldwide - in most jurisdictions fingerprint examination cases match or outnumber all other forensic examination casework combined. Outperforms DNA and all other human identification systems to identify more murderers, rapists and other serious offenders (fingerprints solve ten times more unknown suspect cases than DNA in most jurisdictions).
In this age of digital computers has the visual system started to crack? Yes computers reduce the human search process which although enhanced by the file method (looking at area search for specific landmarks) has been computerised and will offer in ranking order the data base selection of those with these landmarks, but the final analysis is still with the investigating team.
The final question of the day, asked how did the history of fingerprinting get started? Fingerprints have been found on ancient Babylonian clay tablets, seals, and pottery. They have also been found on the walls of Egyptian tombs and on Minoan, Greek, and Chinese pottery; as well as on bricks and tiles in Babylon and Rome. Some of these fingerprints were deposited unintentionally by workers during fabrication; sometimes the fingerprints served as decoration. However, on some pottery, fingerprints were impressed so deeply that they were likely intended to serve as the equivalent of a brand label
But historical in Europe we are blessed with a list of significant modern dates documenting the use of fingerprints for positive identification is as follows:
1684: Nehemiah Grew (1641-1712, English physician, botanist) published the first paper on the ridge structure of skin of the fingers and palms.
1685, Govard Bidloo (1649-1713, Dutch physician) and Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694, Italian physician) published books on anatomy which also illustrated the ridge structure of the fingers.
1788: Johann Christoph Andreas Mayer (1747-1801, German anatomist) recognized that fingerprints are unique to each individual.
1823: Jan Evangelista Purkyně, a professor of anatomy at the University of Breslau, published his thesis discussing nine fingerprint patterns, but he did not mention the use of fingerprints to identify persons.
1853: Georg von Meissner (1829-1905, German anatomist) studied friction ridges.
1858: Sir William James Herschel (1833-1918, English magistrate) initiated fingerprinting in India.
1880: Dr Henry Faulds published his first paper on the subject in the scientific journal Nature in 1880. Returning to the UK in 1886, he offered the concept to the Metropolitan Police in London but it was dismissed.
1892: Sir Francis Galton published a detailed statistical model of fingerprint analysis and identification and encouraged its use in forensic science in his book Finger Prints.
1892: Juan Vucetich, an Argentine police officer who had been studying Galton pattern types for a year, made the first criminal fingerprint identification. He successfully proved Francisca Rojas guilty of murder after showing that the bloody fingerprint found at the crime scene was hers, and could only be hers.
1897: The world's first Fingerprint Bureau opened in Calcutta (Kolkata); India after the Council of the Governor General approved a committee report (on 12 June 1897) that fingerprints should be used for classification of criminal records. Working in the Calcutta Anthropometric Bureau (before it became the Fingerprint Bureau) were Azizul Haque and Hem Chandra Bose. Haque and Bose were the Indian fingerprint experts credited with primary development of the fingerprint classification system eventually named after their supervisor, Sir Edward Richard Henry.
1901: The first United Kingdom Fingerprint Bureau was founded in Scotland Yard. The Henry Classification System, devised by Sir Edward Richard Henry with the help of Haque and Bose was accepted in England and Wales. (But there are questions about who was responsible for the system and readers are advised to search the Internet, if you are troubled and want a short cut then look at this footnote, just click the underlined link)
It was left to Peter Stoddart himself an ex Officer to propose a vote of thanks to our speaker, he from his wide experience summarised the involvement of taking finger prints from the lower echelons and thanked Michael for his entertaining forty five minutes presentation, which kept us on our toes and we warmly agreed with Peter in out thanks.
Footnote Further reading this was not part of the presentation.
Haque was recruited by Edward Henry to work on the fingerprint project as part of the Calcutta Police service of British India, Haque studied math and science at Presidency College, Kolkata. In 1892, Edward Henry wrote to the college principal asking for the recommendation of a strong statistics student, and the principal nominated Haque. Henry recruited Haque as a police sub-inspector, and initially gave him the responsibility for instituting the anthropometric system in Bengal.
Haque, in his attempt to apply the anthropometric system originally proposed by Francis Galton, got frustrated in terms of its practical application. He soon, according to Bevan, began to work on a classification system of his own borrowing elements of Galton’s. He devised a mathematical formula of sorting slips in 1024 pigeonholes in thirty-two columns and thirty-two rows,
By 1897, Haque had collected 7000 fingerprint sets in his cabinet. His simple methods of further sub classification, which were easier to learn and less prone to error than Galton’s, meant that even a collection numbering in the hundreds of thousands could be divided into small groups of slips. As he predicted, his fingerprint sets, compared with anthropometric cards, were far less prone to error and could be classified and searched with much greater confidence. The registration of a convict or a search for his existing card took an hour under the anthropometric system, but only five minutes using Haque's classification of fingerprints. Edward Henry, was overjoyed with Haque’s results, and Henry saw that they would reflect well on him and career. He asked the colonial government to convene a committee to evaluate the system for widespread use. The committee reported that fingerprints were superior to anthropometry, and were the new hero in criminal identification.
Commenting on Henry's version that, Henry begun to tell those who asked that it was he who had come up with the classification system in a sudden flash of inspiration on a train, when he had no paper and had to resort to noting his ideas on the shirt cuff. The tales got back to England, along with word of the success Henry achieved on the backs of Haque and Galton. Later on, Henry describing the new classification system as if it were his own
Hem Chandra Bose, another Indian Police Officer, who worked with Haque and Henry, subsequently contributed to the development of telegraphic code system for fingerprints. Henry, however, initially did not openly acknowledge contributions of the two Indian police officers to the development of fingerprint classification, and for which Henry was recognized and honoured later in England, and the classification system was named as Henry Classification System and is still currently widely used in the world.
Years later, when Haque requested recognition and compensation from the British government for his contribution to fingerprint classification work, Henry did acknowledge publicly Haque’s contribution. He also did the same, when the issue of compensation for Bose came up. (Government of India) noted, It appears from the information now received that Haque was Sir Edward Henry’s principal helper in perfecting the scheme and he actually himself devised the method of classification which is in universal use. He thus contributed most materially to a discovery which is of worldwide importance and has brought a great credit to the police of India.
On a subsequent request to comment on Haque’s fellow Indian police officer who also worked on the project with Henry, Hem Chandra Bose (Bose), Sir Henry wrote in 1930, The Rai Bahadur (Bose)…has devoted the whole of his official life to perfecting the methods by which search is facilitated and as his labours have contributed materially to great credit.
Sir Douglas Gordon, a former Inspector of Bengal Police strongly implied that Haque and Bose and not Henry created the classification. The full credit for the system, Gordon declared, rests with the Bengal Police. Haque received the title of Khan Shahib from the government in 1913 and that of Khan Bahadur in 1924….Similarly Bose received the decoration Rai Shahib and Rai Bhadur- the Hindu counterparts of the honours received by Haque. Both also received honoraria of 5,000 rupees each for their contribution to the establishment of fingerprint classification
With thanks to http://en.wikipedia.org
Please note the following correction of the post of Sir Douglas Gordon
and more precise details, thanks to his grandson Ian.
Sir,
The excellent description of the history of fingerprints in criminology mentions my Grandfather, Sir Douglas Gordon and, quoting Wikipedia, says he was a former Inspector of Police in Bengal. He was in fact a former "Inspector-General" of Police for Bengal from 1938-1942. In other words he was chief of all Bengal police for that period. In his private memoirs he wrote:
"The headquarters of the Bengal Police was in Calcutta, the seat of Government. Here the Inspector General had his office and here too was the Criminal Investigation Department with a staff of selected Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors for important investigations which appeared to require the service of an expert or series of similar cases spreading over two or more Districts. Here too were the criminal records and the fingerprint section. The Bengal Police are justly proud of the fact that it was in Bengal that the method of classification of fingerprints was invented. It was long known that no two individuals had similar prints, the problem was to discover a method of classifying them for the purpose of record and comparison. India was a country where for years the thumb print had been used as a sign of receipt or attestation and in 1896 Mr. Edward Henry who was Inspector General of Police, Bengal, placed two Indian Inspectors, one a Hindu and the other a Muslim, on special duty for a period of a year to do nothing else but strive to work out a formula and a system of classification. This they eventually succeeded in doing and this method was approved by the Government of Bengal and put into practice. In 1901 Mr. Henry was appointed Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, London, and in due course the system which bears his name, was adopted in Great Britain and subsequently in most Police Forces in the World. Certain refinements have of course been added but basically the classification is that invented by these two Bengali Officers. Mr. Henry was, in 1903, appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and was knighted.
The names of these two Bengali Officers were Azizul Haq and Hem Chandra Bose. Henry arranged for them to explain and demonstrate this system to a committee of experts in Calcutta in March 1897 and it was decided that this system had marked advantages over the then official anthropometric system and it was adopted officially that year in India. Both Officers received title of Khan Bahadur and Rai Bahadur respectively and an honorarium of Rupees 5,000/- each. Rai Bahadur, Hem Chandra Bose later introduced a method of classification of single digit impressions and a telegraphic code for communicating finger print classification. The work of these two officers has been one of the most signal contributions to the detection of crime and is most worthy of commemoration."
Yours sincerely
Ian Gordon
