FOILED BY FINGER PRINTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 359, 9 April 1910, Page 10

FOILED BY FINGER PRINTS.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF CRIMINAL I CATCHING. Printer's ink has played an important part in the past in aiding the detection of crime, and there seems to be greater possibilities, as only quite lately a man found dead on a London railway was identified by his finger-prints. Scotland Yard has in recent years made a tardy recognition of the value of the Press for supplementing their 'official efforts. In addition to the publicity given in the newspapers when criminals are "wanted," printer's ink is an indispensable adjunct for securing a record of the finger prints which now form such a reliable guide in bringing lawbreakers to justice, and in establishing a system by which prisoners can be readily identified for purposes of proving a previous conviction. A copper-faced tablet about ten ten inches long, and three inches wide, on which the ink is distributed by means of a roller, is all that is required to secure a prisoner's record, which is filed in the Habitual Criminals' Register at New Scotland Yard.

The public are familiar with the usual method which now prevails amongst the detective force in photographing the finger prints left behind on candles, glasses or bottles by the midnight marauders, who have neglected to provide themselves the modern essential for an up-to-date cracksman's kit—a pair of gloves.

FINGER-PRINTED BY THE WARDERS.

The fact that gloves are used is accepted as ah unfailing indication that the burglary has been carried out by experts. Besides this search for clues, there is also the branch with which the newspaper reader is less familiar, and that is the use of the finger impressions for the official records. The great advantages of the system over the anthropometric method which was formerly used in Britain are—the simplicity of working; the small cost of the apparatus; all the skilled work is transferred to the central office; the rapidity with which the process can be worked; and the certainty of results. All sentenced to more than a month's imprisonment are finger printed by the warders soon after sentence; the slips containing the finger prints are forwarded to Scotland Yard for registration and record. The same process is gone through in the case, of remanded prisoners; the prints are sent to headquarters for search.

If the accused is identified, the list of convictions is furnished to the Force making the application. Tf there is ho previous conviction the slip is retained until the case is completed. Tf there is an acquittal it is destroyed, and if a conviction the_ record, is filed for future reference. This routine has''been carried out during the last eight years. The total number of identifications have been 40,685.

There are now over 200,000 records of prisoners' finger prints filed at Scotland Yard, representing about one million impressions. So perfect is the system adopted that the record of any convicted person can be found in a few minutes.

For the first time since the introduction of the finger print system for criminal catching, the Commissioner of .Police allowed a pictorial demonstration to be shown in the loan collection of the Imperial International Exhibition at Shepherd's Bush arranged by Detective Inspector Collins. _ Special photographs have been taken to indicate the value of the system as compared with the identification of suspects by means of portraits. It is shown that three men may appear almost identical as regards facial expression, and thus baffle the shrewdest detective, whilst their finger prints present very diversified r-havacteristics. How successfully disguise can be assumed is attested by a Series of striking photographs. ARCHES, LOOPS AND WHORLS. The finger prints arec lossified under one of the following types: — Arches.—Showing the ridges running from one side to the other, with no backward turn.

Loops.—With ridges, making a back ward turn, but without a twist.

Whorls.—Some of the ridges make a turn through at least one complete circuit. Under composites are included patterns in which two or more of the former type are combined on the same print. It is found that although similarity in type and sub-type is of frequent occurrence, exact coincident ridge characteristics have never been found in any two impressions. ' I By way of contrast the enlarged photo- ; graphs of the finger prints of two an- , thropoid apes were exhibited. These remarkable pictures were secured at the Zoo by one of th£ officers in charge of the finger-print department at Scotland Yard. It required no small amount of skill and ingenuity to secure these snapshots without incurring any personal injury from these frolicsome occupants of the monkey-house at Regent's Park. Some of the relics from the "Black Museum" at Scotland Yard which were shown afford evidence of the slender clues upon which the "Sherlock Holmes" of "the Yard" have to work. An interesting story is attached to a small, discolored calendar of Eastern origin. The manager of a tea-garden on the Bhutan frontier, in India, was found murdered in his bedroom, and several hundred rupees stolen. Amongst the papers in the room was this calendar, on which- were ; two faint brown smudges, j On careful examination these marks ' were found to be human blood, the in- ! ference being that the murderer had | allowed his blood-stained thumb to come i in contact with the book when ransacki ing the place. The finger mark waa j found to correspond with the right i thumb impression of the deceased's exI servant, who had been imprisoned for I "theft, and whose finger prints were m i the possession of the authorities. This ! native was tried, and eventually convictI ed.

. On a small cash-box are seen the fin-ger-prints which secured the detection of the brothers Stratum concerned in the murder of an elderly couple in Deptford.

Other exhibits indicated how burglars when in festive mood are often caught napping. In a Birmingham case Uie ''knight of the jemmy" left his linger marks on a bottle, from which he had partaken of champagne. The tell-tale bottle was taken to Scotland Yard, and Avithin a few minutes duplicate prints were found amongst the records. The accused was arrested the same day, and eventually convicted.