Finger Printing
Any finger prints lifted from the scene of the crime must then be analyzed and run through the databases for a match. It is very easy to work with a smudged finger print, so the print might not always match at all the points, but only at a few, at least a few are needed to make a match. Out in the world there are four different types of finger prints, the arch, the loop, the wholes, and the composites. Each of those four are then further broken down with at least two to four subcategories within each category. There is a plain arch where the pattern has a constant flow to it. Starts on one side, flows up slightly, and then comes back down, like a wave in the ocean. The other arch is the tented arch which is similar to the plain arch, only the top of the arch is not a smooth curve; the top comes together like a pitched tent. The first loop is the radial loop where the curve comes all the way around and almost joins itself again. The radial loop moves from the direction of the little finger to the thumb on the hand. The Ulmar loop moves from the direction of the thumb to the little finger of the hand. Next there are four types of whorls. A plain whorl is where the ridges turn in one complete circle, making a circle or spiral shape. Plain is the simplest and there are at least two deltas, and one ridge where the circuit is spiral, oval or circular. The second whorl type is a central pocket where one or more plain whorl's re-curves a second time. The third is a double loop where two separate loops form. The last type of whorl is the accidental whorl where two distinct patterns form with at least two deltas. The fourth type of fingerprints is composites and there are four types of those. The first is a central pocket loop that re-curves a second time and form a pocket with the loop. The twinned loop is also called a double loop, has two separate loops. The lateral pockets loop is similar to the twinned loop only they bend sharply down before re-curving and forming the pocket. The last type of fingerprints is the accidental loops; they combine any two patterns except the plain arch, the one with no pattern. Bases on what type of fingerprint it is will narrow down the search to begin with, but each fingerprint is still individual to each person and there are specialists that study how to read fingerprints and then present them in court.
Fingerprint Patterns. 2009. Fingerprinting. 5 May 2009 http://www.fingerprinting.com/fingerprint-patterns.php