Revisiting of objectivity of latent fingerprint evidence and fingerprint examiner’s fallacy

International Conference on Forensic Research & Technology

October 15-17, 2012 DoubleTree by Hilton Chicago-Northshore, USA

Shahzad Ahmad

AcceptedAbstracts: J Forensic Res

Abstract :

Fingerprint evidence, which became the golden evidence in criminal investigation after its entry into the court room, in last two decades its reliability has challenged in different courts around the world. Growing numbers of scholars have claimed that forensic fingerprint identification has no reliability. Most of the scholars focused on the question of reliability of the process by which the fingerprint expert ?matches? the inked impression with the latent fingerprint found at the crime scene. These challenges necessitate the analysis of objectivity of latent fingerprint evidence by revisiting the fingerprint science and methodology of latent fingerprint examination. The methodologies of latent fingerprint examination in different countries are compared with special references of latent fingerprint examination practices in India where no fallacy of examiner has detected by the court. While demonstrating the reliability studies of fingerprint identification, in fact fingerprint examiner?s fallacy and case work fallacy is demonstrated. The objectivity of latent fingerprint evidence is based on science while the fallacy of latent fingerprint examiner and case work fallacy are the result of human error depending on different factors including the quality of latent fingerprint image.

Biography :

Shahzad Ahmad has completed his M.Sc. (Forensic Science) in 2011 from Osmania University, Hyderabad and joined Scope e-Knowledge Center, Pvt Ltd, Chennai as Forensic Science Consultant on 1st June 2011. He has presented several papers, posters etc, attended many national and international conferences, symposia and workshops in forensic science and related field.