Latent Print Examiner Skills Test

The methodology of friction ridge identification is known as:

ACE-V

What does Small Particle Reagent adheres to in the fingerprint deposit?

Fats

John Dillinger, the notorious criminal of the Great Depression, tried to remove his fingerprints with:

Acid

Gentian Violet is a dye which stains fatty constituents of sebaceous sweat producing an intense purple image. It is very effective for the development of latent fingerprints on:

Adhesive surface of adhesive tapes.

Ninhydrin may be applied using the following methods:

All of the above (Dipping, brushing, spraying)

Iodine is applied by which method:

All of the above (Fuming Gun Method, Fuming Cabinet Method, Solution Method)

Gentian Violet can interfere with the forensic examination for:

All of the above (Handwriting, body fluids, ink)

In order to accelerate the development of superglued prints what is commonly used:

All of the above (Portable heater, hair dryer, alcohol lamp)

Ninhydrin solutions may be applied by:

All of the above (Spraying, swabbing, dipping)

This light source(s) have been utilized in the development of latent prints and have produced better print images than regular room light:

All of the above (UV light sources, Lasers, Xenon arc lamps)

A ridge break may be caused by:

All of the above (a dip in the ridge at a pore opening, a failure in deposition of matrix, dirt)

A delta may be _______.

All of the above (a dot, a bifurcation, an abrupt ending ridge)

Dirty substrates may not accept all of the matrix available during deposition. The resulting print can:

All of the above (appear blotchy, have areas missing, lack detail)

Edgeoscopy:

All of the above (has always been a part of friction ridge comparison, but its use as an independent identification science is not feasible, was originally coined by Salil K. Chatterjee in a paper published in "Finger Print and Identification Magazine", September 1962 issue, involves the use of edge shapes during comparison and does not require the shape to be classified. One shape is compared to another and found to be consistent or not.)

A fuming cabinet is an environmental control chamber in which an object is exposed to high concentrations of fumes from a particular substance. The following latent print development technique(s) should always be used inside a fuming cabinet:

All of the above (physical developer, ninhydrin, superglue)

Incipient ridges are also called _________ ridges.

All of the above (rudimentary, subsidiary, nascent)

The matrix of a friction ridge print is the actual substance deposited by the friction ridges. This substance may be:

All of the above (sweat, foreign material such as grease, motor oil, paint, etc., sweat/foreign material combination)

Poor quality prints that are not easy to compare fall into what may be described as a gray area. The size of a gray area and the number of prints that will fall into this area is dependent on examiner ___________ .

All of the above (training and experience, ability and skill, knowledge)

The solids of eccrine sweat are half inorganic salts and half organic compounds. The salt is mostly sodium chloride while the organic compounds include:

All of the above (urea, amino acids, peptides)

The first truly scientific method of criminal identification (of which we are aware) was devised by:

Alphonse Bertillion

The "Luma-lite" and "Polilight" are:

Alternate light sources

These flake powders have been shown to be more sensitive that most other types of powders:

Aluminum

A Small Particle Reagant Physical Developer Crystal Violet Cyanoacrylate dye which stains protein present in blood to give a blue-black product.

Amino Black

These appear on all toes:

Arch, loop and whorl patterns

About 5 percent of all fingerprint patterns are:

Arches

In 1896, this country became the first country in the world to abolish the anthropometry system:

Argentina

"Anthropometry" is an identification system also known as _________.

Bertillonage

These Reagents have been reported to work very successfully in the enhancement of bloody fingerprints:

Both of the above (Coomassie Blue, Amino Black)

The following types of fingerprints will fluoresce under appropriate illumination:

Both of the above (Natural latent fingerprints, some types of contamination arising from the environment and subsequently deposited in fingerprints.)

Iodine vapor is physically absorbed by latent fingerprint deposits and often fades unless fixed. What color image is formed using iodine vapor?

Brown

An alternative process name for superglue is:

Cyanoacrylate

An alternative name for "1,8-diazafluoren-9-one" is:

DFO

What sequence of latent print development techniques are used to develop prints from porous materials?

DFO, Ninhydrin, Physical Developer

Ridgeology was coined in 1983 by:

David Ashbaugh

The study of the effects of disease and genetic aberrations on the friction ridges is referred to as:

Dermatoglyphics

Generally ________ silver nitrate solutions are used in fingerprint work.

3%-5%

Ninhydrin has been known to develop ________ old prints.

30-35 year

A fingerprint classification with all whorls would be:

32/32

Friction ridges begin to form on the human fetus during the __________ months of fetal life:

3rd and 4th

Intrinsic ridge shapes and relative pore locations are designated as ________.

3rd level ridge detail

The intrinsic or innate ridge formations are all:

3rd level ridge detail

A film which has an ASA film speed rating of 200 is ________ as fast as one with a rating of 50.

4 times

Bluhm and Lougheed (1968) found that ideal temperature-humidity conditions for preserving latent fingerprints on a nonporous surface is:

40-55 degrees

The first noticeable development of friction skin on the volar surfaces takes place at about ________ weeks gestation.

6

Optimum development of ninhydrin-treated latent prints is obtained when the items processed are subjected to a post-processing environment of ________ percent relative humidity.

65-80

The size of fingerprint cards has been standardized at:

8-by-8 inches

The FBI Identification Division was established in 1924 when the records of National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Leavenworth Penitentiary Bureau were consolidated in Washington D.C. The original collection of _________ has expanded into many millions.

810,000

Eccrine sweat contains approximately __________ water.

99%

By increasing the aperture size of the lens (diameter of the diaphragm) one f-stop, for example from f/11 to f/8, the amount of light transmitted through the lens is:

Doubled

The initial suggestion associating the identification of fingerprints found at the crime scenes with finger impressions in a collection is credited to:

Dr. Henry Faulds

This person is known as the "Father of Canadian Fingerprinting":

Edward Foster

This can be used to recover prints from dust:

Electrostatic dust print lifter

The large cushion area at the base of the thumb is known as the:

Thenar

"Palmar flexion crease identification is established through the agreement of flexion creases in sequence having sufficient uniqueness to individualize."

This is a simple phrase to describe the philosophy of palmar flexion crease identification.

This is not a pattern area of the foot:

Tibilar pattern zone

Alternative process name(s) for Gentian Violet:

Two of the above (Crystal Violet, Methyl Violet)

Any chart presented must be technically correct: that is the corresponding ridge characteristics in the two prints must be similarly numbered and indicated.

Twelve ridge characteristics are ample to illustrate an identification, but it is neither claimed nor implied that this number is required.

This method(s) has been suggested for the visualization and recovery of latent fingerprints on human skin:

Two of the above (Magnetic Powder, Iodine-silver plate transfer)

Employed in the Central Police Department, La Plata, Argentina and installed the French Bertillon Anthropometric Identification System.

Vucetich

In 1893, who operated the office that solved the Rojas murder by use of fingerprints?

Vucetich

Superglue is thought to react primarily with what component in the latent print deposit?

Water

It is ___________ to describe every discrepancy that may be encountered during the analysis of friction ridge prints.

impossible

Friction ridge identification is established through the agreement of friction ridge formations, in sequence, having sufficient uniqueness to individualize. "Sequence" means that all areas of the print must be joined directly, or if physically separated, undergo careful analysis where the opinion of the expert is that sequence is maintained over the separation. When sequence is maintained, the weight placed on each area of comparison is ________.

accumulative

If kept for any length of time, silver nitrate solutions should be kept:

in a well-stoppered dark-colored bottle or in a dark place.

Of all the solvents used for ninhydrin solutions, the following result in the greatest damage to inks:

acetone, methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol

Immature ridge formations that develop in the same manner as normal ridges:

incipient ridges

Type lines may be defined as the two innermost ridges which start parallel, diverge, and surround or tend to surround ________.

the pattern area

The medial phalangeal zone is:

the second or middle joint of the finger

The delta is that point on a ridge at or in front of and nearest the center of the divergence of __________.

the type lines

Injury or disease that penetrates the skin to the dermal papillae level can damage the epidermal ________ layer infrastructure.

basal

The deepest layer of cells next to the dermis is called the:

basal layer

Friction ridge comparison is a process where visual comparative measurements, and sometimes physical comparative measurements, are made between the latent and exemplar prints. The measurements are sequential, spatial, and configurative in nature. The comparison must:

be completely objective.

Prior to applying any chemical techniques for developing latent prints to suspected blood stains, the evidence should:

be first examined by a serologist

________ is a satisfactory clearing solution for both ninhydrin and silver nitrate.

bleach

Leucomalachite green is a sensitive reagent which has been used for a considerable time by criminalists as a chemical test for:

blood

Luminol is a highly sensitive chemical test for ________ which produces a chemiluminescence of fifteen minutes duration or more.

blood

Latent prints etched in metal:

cannot normally be developed further and must be photographed as they appear.

The most prominent error when taking fingerprints is:

carelessness of the recorder taking the impressions.

Soft substrates permit the friction ridges to sink into their surfaces and:

create molded impressions

Rubber lifters are not as commonly used as lifting tape and hinge lifters, but they are more versatile. Rubber lifters are particularly useful when lifting latent prints from:

curved surfaces

Silver nitrate solution should be stored in a ________.

dark colored bottle or dark place.

When encountering friction ridge clusters, the anatomical aspects of the digits in the cluster assist with:

digit determination

There are instances when ridge units are present but do not fuse together to form friction ridges. This aberration may affect all of the volar surfaces or just a small part. This condition, known to be inherited, is called ________.

dysplasia

Sweat glands, or ________ glands, are found on almost all surface skin areas of the body with their greatest density on the palmar surfaces of the hands and the plantar surfaces of the feet.

eurocrine

More latent prints are lost because of ________ and insufficient brushing than any other causes.

excessive powder

This development media can pile up in the nooks and crannies such as pore openings and fine ridge crevices in the matrix:

fingerprint powders

Deposition pressure generally changes the shape of the friction ridge by:

flattening or broadening each ridge

Friction ridges flow in concert. When a ridge ends the two adjacent ridges:

flow together to fill the void.

One of the most dangerous chemical substances used in latent fingerprint work is:

hydrogen fluoride

The uses of this solvent in the preparation of Ninhydrin prevents ink runage on paper documents.

Freon 113

Vacuum Metals Deposition utilizes vacuum-coating technology for the evaporation of metals and the deposition of thin metal films. Thin layers of what metal is used for this process?

Gold and zinc

Small Particle Reagent forms what color deposit?

Gray

Physical Developer reacts with components of sebaceous swear to form what colored deposit?

Grey-silver

The use of magnetic fingerprint was first reported by:

H. MacDonald

This process(s) can lead to significant increase in the quality and contrast of ridge detail revealed when used in conjunction with Ninhydrin:

Heat and humidity

The development of Ninhydrin treated prints may be accelerated with the use of:

Heating and humidification

"Imbrication" is a feature where friction ridges all tend to:

lean in the same direction

About 60 percent of all fingerprint patterns are:

Loops

The best technique for developing latent fingerprints on plastic is:

Magnetic powders

In the volar areas the epidermis is made up of several layers of skin cells. These various layers are sometimes divided into two groups. The inner layer of cells is the stratum ________ (also called the stratum mucosum), and the outer layer is the stratum ________.

Malpighii, corneum

Small Particle Reagent is comprised of what fine particles?

Molybdenum Disulphide

Pressure distortion is different from deposition distortion. While deposition pressure describes vertical weight being placed on the friction ridges, pressure distortion takes place:

on the lateral or horizontal plane

A satisfactory clearing solution for both ninhydrin and silver nitrate stains is:

ordinary household bleach (i.e. Clorox)

The classification formula may be composed of the following divisions:

primary, secondary, subsecondary, major, final, key

The correct procedure to recover latent prints on dusty surfaces is:

proper use of lighting and photography

When the skin is damaged to the extent that both the epidermis and the dermis are disturbed, a permanent scar may result with attendant alteration of the ridges involved. Scars:

provide additional and valuable means of identification.

The area or finger joint located adjacent to the palm:

proximal phalangeal zone

Loops that flow in the direction of the radius bone are called:

radial loops

The inorganic ________ of perspiration present in latent print residue are the substances that react chemically with silver nitrate in solution, forming silver chloride, which darkens upon exposure to light.

salts

Alternative process name for Amino Black:

Naphthalene Black

NCIC stands for:

National Crime Information Center

A professor at the University of Bologna, Italy, this person published the results of his examination of friction skin with the newly invented microscope:

Nehemiah Grew

Comparison tests involving palmar flexion creases and their results have been performed and were reported in 1991 by:

New Scotland Yard

Fading is a common phenomenon for prints developed with:

Ninhydrin

Freon 113 (trichlorotirfluoroethane) is a solvent that has been used to produce:

Ninhydrin

Reacts with the amino acids in the fingerprint deposit:

Ninhydrin

This is known as the latent print examiner's "chemical workhorse" for the treatment of porous material for latent prints:

Ninhydrin

Based on NCIC classification, an actual ridge count plus "50" represents what kind of fingerprint pattern?

Radial loop

Credited for his practical interest in fingerprints in India as a means of identifying workers to ensure that payment of wages was not duplicated:

Sir Edward Henry

The first person to confirm ridge permanency was:

Sir William Herschel

This person is credited with being the first European to recognize the value of friction ridge prints and to actually use them or identification purposes:

Sir William Herschel

What latent print development technique is used to process nonporous materials that are wet?

Small Particle Reagant

Loops that flow in the direction of the ulna bone (toward the little finger) are called:

ulnar loops

The core of a loop is placed upon or within ________.

the innermost sufficient recurve

The left ring and left little fingers have a space value of:

1

A fingerprint classification without whorls would be:

1/1

There are ten spaces for individual rolled impressions on a fingerprint card, and if a whorl appears in either the right thumb or right index finger space, the space is given a value of:

16

The human eye can generally detect no more than ________ various shades of gray.

16-32

ACE-V stands for:

Analysis, comparison, evaluation, verification

This is a commonly used as a light source when searching for latent prints:

Flashlight

May be one of the first processes used in a sequence of a fingerprint examination.

Fluorescence Examination

A latent print itself is not removable from a surface by the lifting process. The oils and moisture simply hold powder grains, which are in turn picked up by the adhesive tape. A powder and not the latent image is lifted.

If the process is repeated, each lift becomes progressively weaker.

Ninhydrin which uses a freon solvent virtually eliminates the following problem when processing porous materials for latent prints:

Ink running

What is the proper sequence for latent print development on porous materials using the following methods:

Iodine, Ninhydrin, Silver Nitrate

This fingerprint development technique reacts more intensely with older fingerprints thereby making it possible to determine the relative age of the latent print:

It is impossible to determine the age of a fingerprint by observation of its reaction with a fingerprint detection process.

This person was the first to describe the repetitiveness and similarities of friction ridge patterns in the same breath with the recognition that specific friction arrangements are never duplicated:

Johannes Purkinje

This person significantly helped advance the field of fingerprint identification in South America while employed at the Central Police Department at La Plata, Argentina:

Juan Vucetich

The first American fingerprint lecturer was:

Mary Holland

Superglue is most suitable for what kinds of surfaces?

Non-porous

This latent print development technique can be effective on non-porous surfaces:

None of the above (DFO, Ninhydrin, Physical Developer)

A photographic process that is based on the formation of silver and a ferrous/ferric redox couple and the deposition of metal salts onto a fingerprint image:

Physical developer

Vacuum Metal Deposition is particularly suitable on what surfaces:

Polythene plastic

The comparison of relative pore locations is called ________.

Poroscopy

Who reported the use of DFO for the fluorescent detection of latent prints on paper?

Pounds

The final purple colored compound usually produced with the treatment of Ninhydrin is called:

Ruhemann's Purple

How long does it generally take ninhydrin treated prints to naturally, fully develop?

Several weeks

Which latent print development technique was replaced by the Ninhydrin/Physical Developer combination for treating porous materials for latent prints?

Silver Nitrate

The best latent print development technique for use on non-porous surfaces which are contaminated with grease, foodstuffs or dried deposits of soft drinks:

Sudan Black

In 1982, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory in Japan introduced which novel procedure for processing evidence for latent prints?

Superglue

The NCIC code for tented arch is:

TT

During the identification process the purpose of first level detail is:

To narrow the number of possible donors

Physical Developer is a very effective reagent for developing latent fingerprints on paper which has been:

Wetted

Superglue polymerizes on some latent fingerprints to produce what colored deposit?

White

About 35 percent of all fingerprint patterns are:

Whorls

This is a latent print development technique that employs finely powdered lead to visually record latent print images:

X-ray

The NCIC code for missing/amputated fingers is:

XX

Various substrates can cause distortion or interfere with the deposition of a print. For example, holding a round bottle in the hand allows the thumb and thenar palm area to wrap around the substrate. When lifted and put onto a flat surface the resulting print can appear as:

a little finger and palm

When two bifurcations form on the same ridge facing each other and their branches join, the formation is called:

a spur

The essentials of a loop are:

a sufficient recurve, a delta, and a ridge count across a looping ridge

Palmar flexion creases, when applied to the identification process, are alone:

a suitable method for personal identification.

A ________ is when two bifurcations develop next to each other on the same ridge.

a trifurcation

"Red flags" are deposition or pressure distortion indicators that:

are warnings and warrant careful analysis.

Ninhydrin is a general purpose fingerprint reagent for paper and some other porous surfaces. What component of a fingerprint deposit does it react with?

amino acids

The Polilight is:

an alternate light source

Thermoplastic powders must be applied to a surface with:

an atomizer

There are 2 ways to develop silver nitrate images: ________ or with ________.

chemically, light

Silver Nitrate reacts with what component present in fingerprint deposits?

chlorides

A chart will present a clearer, neater, and more pleasing appearance if it is numbered:

clockwise and the number are evenly spaced.

The Polaroid CU-5 is a:

close up camera

Latent fingerprints on ________ are about the most difficult for an investigator to detect and develop.

cloth

A triradius is called a ________ in most classification systems.

delta

The double loop consists of two separate loop formations, with two separate and distinct shoulders and two ________.

deltas

Charts are used to:

demonstrate how an examiner arrived at a conclusion regarding the fingerprints.

When photographing latent fingerprints on a curved surface, ________ must be considered when computing exposure settings.

depth of field

The surface of the dermis is covered with blunt peg-like formations called:

dermal papillae

The inner layer of friction skin is called the:

dermis

The method of palmar flexion crease identification:

follows the ACE-V formula

When fingerprinting the dead and rigor mortis (stiffening of the muscles) has set in and the fingers are tightly clenched, the finger may be:

forcibly straightened by "breaking the rigor".

Of all the solvents used for ninhydrin solutions, the following result in the least damage to inks:

freon 113, ethyl ether, petroleum ether

When determining which latent print development technique to use in a particular instance, many factors may govern the selection, but the chemical composition of the latent print is ________ one of these factors.

generally

Ridgeology can be defined as the study of the uniqueness of friction ridge structures and their use for personal identification. The scientific knowledge supporting ridgeology has been extracted from various related sciences such as:

genetics, anatomy and embryology

Normally, ninhydrin-developed latent prints should be photographed using a ________ filter and Kodak Tri-X film.

green

3rd level ridge details:

have tremendous individualizing power.

Although this cannot be considered a practical latent fingerprint technique, a number of arson cases have been solved as a result of latent prints developed by:

heat

The reaction between ________ and latent print residue is not considered a chemical reaction for it is absorbed by the residue.

iodine

This technique has been known to develop print impressions on human skin:

iodine

In testifying to fingerprint identification, the expert often prepares charts to visually aid the court and jury in understanding the nature of his/her testimony. The preparation of the chart:

is ultimately the sole responsibility of the expert using it.

Hale's islands and branchings refer to major 2nd level ridge path deviations found on the friction ridges known as:

islands and bifurcations

The epidermis is the ________ layer of the friction skin.

outer

Autoradiography is the highly specialized use of radioactive compounds or elements to develop and record latent fingerprints on surfaces such as ________.

paper and fabrics

A group of synthetic and natural chemical compounds known as ________ may be used as fingerprint powders.

phosphors

Silicone rubber casting provides the best technique for accurately and permanently preserving ________ fingerprint impressions.

plastic

Silicone rubber casting provides the best technique for accurately recording and permanently preserving:

plastic fingerprint impressions

Photographing a latent print prior to lifting:

preserves the latent image in the event of loss or destruction in the lifting process.

Each time the setting of the shutter is advanced to the next smaller fraction, for example from 1/50 to 1/100 second, the amount of time the shutter remains open and the amount of light reaching the film is:

reduced by one-half

Fingerprint hinge lifters are sheets of .005 Mylar with special clear adhesive surfaces. The lifters are attached to their covers by a hinge on one side of the lifter. A thin plastic separator covers the adhesive side of the lifter and this separator is marked with removal instructions. When using the lifter, the separator is:

removed and thrown away.

Lifts made with transparent tapes and lifters can be compared directly with inked impressions, whereas opaque lifters must be:

reversed

The only effective laser procedure developed to date for the examination of skin is vapor staining with ________.

rhodamine 6G

Pore ducts open along the top of friction ridges. They appear to be evenly spaced along the ridge. The appearance of even spacing is due to the fact that friction ridges are constructed of ___________.

ridge units

Prints deposited when the friction ridges are wet, usually with water or a fluid other than sweat, are commonly referred to as wet prints. The friction ridges tend to appear as a series of ________ before and after development.

rounded units

Three types of lifting devices are commonly used to lift powdered latents:

rubber lifters, lifting tape, hinge lifters

The primary source of oils and fats found in perspiration is ________, a secretion of the sebaceous glands.

sebum

Physical Developer (PD) is what kind of aqueous reagent?

silver-based

A photographic film exposure consists of four basic variables:

subject light, camera lens aperture setting, camera shutter speed setting, and the speed of the selected film.

The opinion of identification is ________.

subjective

Iodine developed latent prints can be accelerated by exposure to:

sunlight

An investigator must know that when a latent is developed with powder, the evidence is going to wind up in a condition equally as good or better than when it was found. The way to predetermine the result of the attempt is to perform what is known as a ________ print on the same or similar surface at a point where it does not interfere with the latent evidence.

test

If two or more simultaneous fingerprints are developed in a group, the best procedure is to lift:

the impressions as a group

Small Particle Reagent (SPR) is a latent print development technique that may be used on all non-porous surfaces including those which are:

wet

A tenprint card with primary classification of 32/32 means that all of the prints are:

whorls