Instructor: Morgan Hays, CLPE Course length: 24 hours
This course includes comprehensive training in the mechanical and chemical processing of latent print evidence found on porous and nonporous surfaces. One day will be spent learning to use photography as a tool to document the evidence. Exercises that include specialized lighting techniques and use of forensic light sources to visualize and photographically record the evidence are included.
The processing, collection, and preservation of fingerprint evidence are primary concerns for those who have conducted crime scene investigations for the past 100 years. Many of the individuals who are currently charged with this responsibility have not had the opportunity to attend a course of instruction on the proper application of latent fingerprint processing techniques that are available to them.
This accelerated 24-hour course on the processing, recovery, and photography of latent print evidence has been designed for detectives, crime scene investigators, and fingerprint identification specialists. This course will provide both lecture and hands-on techniques for processing latent prints on porous and nonporous surfaces, using both mechanical and chemical techniques. Additionally, students attending this course will learn to take legible fingerprints that are suitable for booking, eliminations, and other uses.
The course will also introduce students to photographic and lighting techniques that are useful in the documentation of latent print evidence. Photography is essential in cases where prints cannot be otherwise collected, where processing techniques do not render permanent results, and in cases where processed evidence is not readily visible or discernible to the naked eye. Since this course presents techniques that include fluorescent fingerprint powders and dye stains, an overview of forensic light sources will be presented, and students will have access to forensic light sources in order to visualize and photograph the evidence they process in class. Safety will be stressed in all exercises.
