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6 Fed. Juror 1 (1935)

handle is hein.journals/fjbfgj6 and id is 1 raw text is: Fewer and Better Laws THE FEDERAL JUROR Bulletin of the FEDERAL GRAND JURY ASSOCIATION Southern District of New York The Editor assumes no responsibility for the opinions contained in the articles, letters and contributions that appear in The Federal Juror VOLUME VI JANUARY, 1935 NUMBER 1 The Fingerprint and Its Values (For thirty-six years Colonel Ayers has been in a position to judge at frst hand the value of fingerprinting. During the past sixteen years he was in command of the Missing Persons Bureau which handled 350,000 cases of disappear- ances, with an average of 98 percent successful results.) It is impossible to determine with any degree of certainty just when the fingerprint, as a means of identifica- tion, first came into general use. We do know, however, that many years before it was employed for the pur- pose of identifying criminals it was used in the Orient, notably in China and India, as a substitute for the written signature. The English masters of India re- quired that the impress of the left thumb of the native signatory appear on all documents of a business nature as a substitute for or an accompani- ment of the written signature. It may thus be seen that the thumb or fingerprint was employed in commer- cial and business life long before it was used as an aid to the identifica- tion of criminals, with which the thought of it in the minds of most is at present associated. It was through this use that the finger or thumb print came to have a recognized value as a means of estab- lishing an identity. It was not known to what extent, if any, the impression of the fingers of one hand might find a counterpart in the impress of corres- ponding fingers of another hand. It was agreed, however, that there was less chance of a duplication or repro- duction of the fingerprint signature than there was of the written signa- ture. The fingerprint thus established its value as a means of identification. By Colonel John H. Ayers Bertillion, a French scientist, worked out a system of measurement of certain of the bone structures of the anatomy, involving the head and limbs, that served, in a way, as a means of further checking on the identity. This method was a great improvement over the photograph which had frequently been shown to be unreliable, as the result of the changes increase of age makes in the face, as well as for other reasons. Up to this time, the photograph and the Bertillion'system of measurements were the only means used as an aid in identification, but experience had proved that these means could not always be depended upon. Some better and more reliable method of identification was being sought for by police all over the world. It remained for Mr. Edward Henry -later to become Sir Edward Henrv, through knighthood bestowed on him in recognition of the splendid service rendered in police fields-an English- ANNUAL MEETING of the Federal Grand Jury Association Thursday, January 17th 3:45 P. M. at the Bar Association, 42 West 44th Street. Prominent speakers will address the meeting. All Federal Grand Jurors invited to attend. man, connected with the administra- tion of criminal law in India, to recog- nize the potential value of the finger- print as a reliable means of identifica- tion. He had observed and appreciat- ed its value in commercial and other business transactions in which the natives were concerned. His research- es in the somewhat limited field then available had disclosed no single instance of duplication of pattern of the fingerprints taken of different hands. It was his judgment that here, at last, had been found the absolutely dependable means of positive identi- fication. He was now confronted with a problem that to most would have appeared an impasse, to wit, the mak- ing available for comparison the always increasing number of finger- prints. Of course, each new set of prints taken could be compared with those already on file, but he realized, as time went on, the accumulation of prints would become larger and larger until at last their number would be- come so great that the time and labor involved in making comparisons would present an almost insurmount- able obstacle to the use of the finger- print in the field in which it had proved itself so valuable. Not discouraged by the difficulties of the problem, Mr. Henry set about its solution. His efforts were met with complete success. He worked out a system of classification that brought all fingerprints within a comparatively few classes so that, having the finger impression, it was possible to refer to the file of the class within which that particular print was included and ascertain in a few mi- utes whether that particular print had been recorded before.

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