mixedfreckle:In 1903 the case of Will West led to the use of fingerprints to identify people during
mixedfreckle:In 1903 the case of Will West led to the use of fingerprints to identify people during arrests forever changing the prison system and law enforcement nationwide. Will West was arrested in 1903 and during his processing at the Leavenworth Penitentiary he had his mugshot taken along with his Bertillon Measurements and it was at this moment that the man doing the intake thought he was another inmate which led to the discovery of a flawed system.Bertillon measurements were standard practice at the time since it started to be used in 1882 “named after the French policeman Alphonse Bertillon – which was the usual method of identifying people and involved recording the dimensions of key physical features.” but the measurements and mugshot of Will West were nearly identical to a man arrested 2 years earlier for murder and was already in jail named William West. Above is a diagram of how the Bertillon measurements were done. http://www.crimescene-forensics.com/History_of_Fingerprints.htmlThe case highlighted the flaws in the Bertillon method and it wasn’t long before the U.S authorities turned to fingerprinting. Its pioneer was Scotland Yard’s Sgt. John K. Ferrier, who met McClaughry at the St Louis World Fair in 1904 while he was guarding the Crown Jewels, which were on tour. He told the U.S prison officer how Scotland Yard had been using fingerprinting for the past three years and evangelised its accuracy. McClaughry was sold, and after being instructed on the technique he introduced it to Leavenworth Prison. America’s first national fingerprint repository was established shortly afterwards. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392418/The-amazing-pictures-sparked-need-fingerprinting.html#ixzz3Uz017yQY Photo 1: shows the summary of the case with the FBI and Dept. Of Justice from the National Law Enforcement Museum 1960.Photo 2: a, is Will West mugshot and fingerprints. b, is William West mugshot and fingerprintsPhoto 3: is of the two Will West’s Bertilion measurements Information and photos above are from Will West Case, A Match Made in Heaven http://82141360.weebly.com/will-west-case.htmlHOW FINGERPRINTING WORKSThere are three different types of fingerprint – patent, plastic and latent.The first type occurs when the skin of a finger contaminated with something makes contact with the surface of an object, leaving a ‘ridge impression’ that can be seen with the naked eye. Plastic prints are also visible to the naked eye and occur when finger leaves an indentation in a soft material.The third type is a latent print, which can normally only be seen with enhancement - a special powder, for instance. Latent prints come about from the finger secreting sweat onto an object, which leaves an invisible pattern on it.Every finger has a different pattern of ridges on it that investigators analyse and so far no two fingerprints among the billions recorded have ever been found to be the same.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392418/The-amazing-pictures-sparked-need-fingerprinting.html#ixzz3Uz0Latep Do you know whose who? Which photo is of Will and which is WilliamIf not or you even hesitate thank Will West for fingerprint identification, while many things can be mistaken, planted, lost, contaminated, fingerprints they say are your DNA on the outside belonging only to you.The more you know. -- source link