STORY: "Why your fingerprints may not be unique," by reporter Sarah Knapton, published by the Telegraph on April 21, 2014. (Thanks to the Wrongful Convictions Blog for bringing this story to our attention);
SUB-HEADING: "Assumption that everyone has a unique fingerprint from which they can be identified through a computor database is flawed, says Home Office expert Mike Silverman;
SUB-HEADING: "Nobody has yet proved that fingerprints are unique and families can share elements of the same pattern."
GIST: "Fingerprint evidence linking criminals to crime scenes has played a fundamental role in convictions in Britain since the first forensic laboratory was set up in Scotland Yard in 1901. But the basic assumption that everyone has a unique fingerprint from which they can be quickly identified through a computer database is flawed, an expert has claimed. Mike Silverman, who introduced the first automated fingerprint detection system to the Metropolitan Police, claims that human error, partial prints and false positives mean that fingerprints evidence is not as reliable as is widely believed. Nobody has yet proved that fingerprints are unique and families can share elements of the same pattern.".........“It requires an expert examiner to determine whether a print taken from crime scene and one taken from a subject are likely to have originated from the same finger.” However there are numerous cases in which innocent people have been wrongly singled out by means of fingerprint evidence. In 2004, Brandon Mayfield, was wrongly linked to the Madrid train bombings by FBI fingerprint experts in the United States. Shirley McKie, a Scottish police officer, was wrongly accused of having been at a murder scene in 1997 after a print supposedly matching hers was found near the body. “What both cases clearly demonstrate is that, despite the way fingerprint evidence is portrayed in the media, all comparisons ultimately involve some human element and, as a result, they are vulnerable to human error,” said Mr Silverman who has recently published his memoirs ‘Written in Blood’ and now works as a private forensic consultant. “And the fingerprint often isn’t perfect, particularly at a crime scene. It might be dirty or smudged. There are all sorts of things that reduce the accuracy. “I think it is important that juries are aware of this."
The entire story can be found at:SUB-HEADING: "Assumption that everyone has a unique fingerprint from which they can be identified through a computor database is flawed, says Home Office expert Mike Silverman;
SUB-HEADING: "Nobody has yet proved that fingerprints are unique and families can share elements of the same pattern."
GIST: "Fingerprint evidence linking criminals to crime scenes has played a fundamental role in convictions in Britain since the first forensic laboratory was set up in Scotland Yard in 1901. But the basic assumption that everyone has a unique fingerprint from which they can be quickly identified through a computer database is flawed, an expert has claimed. Mike Silverman, who introduced the first automated fingerprint detection system to the Metropolitan Police, claims that human error, partial prints and false positives mean that fingerprints evidence is not as reliable as is widely believed. Nobody has yet proved that fingerprints are unique and families can share elements of the same pattern.".........“It requires an expert examiner to determine whether a print taken from crime scene and one taken from a subject are likely to have originated from the same finger.” However there are numerous cases in which innocent people have been wrongly singled out by means of fingerprint evidence. In 2004, Brandon Mayfield, was wrongly linked to the Madrid train bombings by FBI fingerprint experts in the United States. Shirley McKie, a Scottish police officer, was wrongly accused of having been at a murder scene in 1997 after a print supposedly matching hers was found near the body. “What both cases clearly demonstrate is that, despite the way fingerprint evidence is portrayed in the media, all comparisons ultimately involve some human element and, as a result, they are vulnerable to human error,” said Mr Silverman who has recently published his memoirs ‘Written in Blood’ and now works as a private forensic consultant. “And the fingerprint often isn’t perfect, particularly at a crime scene. It might be dirty or smudged. There are all sorts of things that reduce the accuracy. “I think it is important that juries are aware of this."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10775477/Why-your-fingerprints-may-not-be-unique.html
See Wrongful Convictions Blog entry: Science and Technology Advisor Phil Locke: (His big caps!) "It’s true that it has never been proven that your fingerprints are unique. But it’s also never been proven that they’re not. The problem is THERE IS NO DATA sufficient to prove either case. There is not even enough data to be able to determine the statistical probability of occurrence of a match. Fingerprint examiners CANNOT declare 100% certainty. That’s rubbish. However, the interesting logical quirk of this is that fingerprints CAN be used to EXCLUDE a suspect with absolute certainty."
http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2014/04/21/fingerprint-identification-based-on-flawed-assumptions/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
