Journal of Forensic Research

Visualisation of Latent Fingerprint on Wild Bird Eggshells by Alternate Light Sources Following Superglue Fuming

Abstract

Alison Darby, Christopher J Rogers, Benjamin Greene, Eleri Parry, Elisabeth M Wray and Jixin Yang

The theft of the eggs of endangered or protected species of bird, and subsequent reduction in wildlife population, is a significant problem worldwide. Detection rates are comparatively low towards this type of crime and fingerprinting of egg shells is infrequently utilised due to the technical barrier. This paper explores a novel technique using cyanoacrylate (superglue) fuming in conjunction with fluorescent dye to visualise latent fingerprints upon avian eggshells assisted with alternate light sources. A systematic investigation of experimental parameters has also been carried out to optimise the condition for the fingerprint visualisation. This research project has successfully developed latent fingerprints upon smooth wild bird eggshells but was less successful on developing prints on more textured, porous eggshells.