AT THE FINGER-TIPS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 689, 14 December 1909, Page 8

AT THE FINGER-TIPS.

... • . ■, PRINTS ;,AS EHDENVe. ■_~;' . Tho evidence of finger-prints; which has lately become/so much used' as a means of criminal identification, '■ was," according to a cablegram published in yesterday's referred to by the Chief Justice of New South Wales as being doubtful unless there were other, evidciico in support. The. opinion that no two" .fingers could ; make '.the. same irapres-. uion was not, lie ; said, : an accepted 1 . scientific) < ■tact.,...: . ■..•■.... .:■:■;. v : : ..,.• ■.■.. .-. ".Yesterday a -Dominion . reporter ; . saw. ; ; Miy Diriuie, Commissioner, of Police, and asked him how tho system worked in, New. Zealand.. Sir. Dinnie replied that they had never had fingerprint evidence-questioned, by a Judge. . Somo years ago; when the system ..was first.adopted in New a case tried before Sir Robert 1 Stout, his Honour had authorities on fingerprints placed, before , luin,' and;ho expressed himself., as perfectly, satisfied . with the infallibility of the systein. In summing, up, ; ho explainedtho value of the system, to the. jury; who. subsequently brought in a verdict of guilty. Afterwards the conviotiJd man aclcnowledged his guilt., In most cases,. criminals, when confronted irith" the, evidence of their fingor-tips, altered their pleas to guilty.. . ■ ■'".We have never had a case -jet," said Mr. Dinnie, "where any question as to the reliability of the evidence has been raised, and several convictions have been secured with no supporting evidence... 'SVhere the finger-print is'inidistinct to such a .degree'that the salient points caii be noted only by an expert and not by a jury, Aye leave the matter alone.'•'• We never ask tho jury to take the word, of the expert where thoy cannot satisfy themselves as to the points of resemblance." '"■.''■■' .-.'.' " In Scotland Yard the system was practically tho samo as that in New ■Zealand,' if the Dominion system wore not bettor, through boing morp compact. At the-headquartors of tlio detective force at Homo thoy. must have abuut a million prints, that is, the ten impressions, from the hand of each .of about 100,000 persons, yet they had not found two alike.. i fho reporter. was. then shown over tho fingerprint department,, whero Mr. E. W. Dinnie and Detective. Quartermaiu ( explained the' working of "tho system. J'hotograph'B were : shown of porsdns so much alike'that it would have taken an expert physiognomist to detect; any difference, and again thore were photographs of por'sons whose appearance had by simple means been altered beyond all recognition. Then the diltorent and far more reliable working of tho finger-print system was demonstrated. With the-export out pftho .room, a -'set-■ of. fingerprints with' nothing to show whoso thev were was so ected, and in a few minute's Mr. Dinnie nail-identified it; by means of tho duplicate copy .classified in, the'file according to; : the principal points..; ;;■: ■. . ■. . v. .;•/, J