The Function of Fingerprints in the Investigation Process to Identify Criminal Offenders
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63306/kj66wd05Keywords:
Fingerprint, Dactyloscopy, Investigation, Criminal Offenders, IdentificationAbstract
This study examines the role of dactyloscopy (fingerprinting) in criminal investigations, focusing on technical, procedural, and legal aspects to assess how fingerprints are integrated into the investigation process, the limitations of the method, and policy recommendations that strengthen the validity and admissibility of evidence. The method used is descriptive qualitative based on normative legal studies with in-depth literature review; data are analyzed through reduction, thematic categorization, and normative interpretation. The findings show that fingerprints serve as a primary identification tool, an elimination tool, and corroborative evidence that strengthens the reconstruction of events when integrated with other evidence; their effectiveness is highly dependent on the quality of the traces, the collection procedures at the crime scene, independent verification, and chain of custody documentation. The role of technology such as AFIS speeds up searches but should be treated as an aid that requires human verification, logging, and algorithm validation. Key challenges include degraded traces, contamination, procedural errors, analyst cognitive bias, algorithm limitations, resource constraints, and legal and ethical aspects related to the admissibility of evidence. Recommendations include standardizing crime scene SOPs, laboratory accreditation (e.g., ISO/IEC 17025), implementing blind verification, recording AFIS parameters, and providing legal education for practitioners and courts to improve transparency and legal certainty.
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