Title
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
2018
Journal or Book Title
Annals of Applied Statistics
Volume
12
Issue
2
First Page
771
Last Page
787
DOI
10.1214/18-AOAS1140
Abstract
This paper examines the extent to which data support the source attributions made by fingerprint examiners. It challenges the assumption that each person’s fingerprints are unique, but finds that evidence of persistence of an individual’s fingerprints is better founded. The use of the AFIS (Automatic Fingerprint Identification System) is problematic, because the algorithms used are proprietary. Additionally, the databases used in conjunction with AFIS are incomplete and not public. Finally, and most crucially, the finding of similarities between the mark found at a crime scene and a fingerprint on file does not permit estimation of the number of persons in a given population who share those characteristics. Consequently, there is no scientific basis for a source attribution; whether phrased as a “match,” as “individualization” or otherwise.
Copyright Owner
Institute of Mathematical Statistics
Copyright Date
2018
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Kadane, Joseph B., "Fingerprint Science" (2018). CSAFE Publications. 11.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/csafe_pubs/11
Comments
This article is published as Kadane, Joseph B. "Fingerprint science." The Annals of Applied Statistics 12, no. 2 (2018): 771-787. Posted with permission of CSAFE.