Determination of the Consistency and Persistency of Developed Latent Prints Using Factors of Exposure: Experimental Research

This study investigates the longevity of latent fingerprints on products exposed to extreme heat and water such as in a fire scene. This study is a pre-experimental design over latent development -using black powder reagent (PS27A). The latent print development was conducted using various household items, which are non-porous and porous materials subjected to high temperatures using butane torch and high-velocity water from a fire truck. Results showed that non-porous materials, such as glass and metal, retained usable latent prints even after high heat and water pressure exposure, with significant retention for up to 30 days. Though a porous material like clothing demonstrates rapid degradation of latent prints, it still yields a positive result. This study highlighted the importance of latent print development process as immediate as possible to maximize the recovery of latent prints with in the fire scene incident. The findings of this study yield a 95% confidence which suggests a high level of reliability in the findings from the sample of 10 trials. This finding also underscores the need for forensic investigators to focus on non-porous materials during evidence collection and follow protocols on evidence recovery in relation to latent prints. Finally, this study recommends that latent print development using powder reagents can be practice or applied during arson/fire scene investigations.

Latent Prints, Exposure Factors, Experimental Research, Forensic Analysis and Black Fingerprint powder PS 27 A)

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