Expanding the Efficacy of Fingermark Enhancement Using ToF-SIMS

Abstract

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) has been shown to enhance fingermark recovery compared to standard processes used by police forces, but there is no data to show how generally applicable the improvement is. Additionally, ToF-SIMS can be run in either positive or negative ion mode (or both), and there is no data on which mode of operation is most effective at revealing fingerprints. This study aims to fill these gaps by using ToF-SIMS to image fingerprints deposited on two common exhibit-type surfaces (polyethylene and stainless steel) using 10 donors and ageing fingerprints in either ambient, rainwater, or underground for 1 and 5 months. In all, 120 fingerprints were imaged using ToF-SIMS, and each was run in positive and negative modes. A fingerprint expert compared the fingerprint ridge detail produced by the standard process to the ToF-SIMS images. In over 50% of the samples, ToF-SIMS was shown to improve fingerprint ridge detail visualised by the respective standard process for all surfaces tested. In over 90% of the samples, the ridge detail produced by ToF-SIMS was equivalent to standard development across all different ageing and exposure conditions. The data shows that there is a benefit to running the ToF-SIMS in both positive and negative modes, even if no ridge detail was seen in one mode.

TOF-SIMS study of latent fingerprints on challenging substrates with the aid of transfer films

“…A study conducted by Bailey's team demonstrated that TOF-SIMS imaging was able to enhance fingerprint ridge details further than the standard process in the majority of cases. 23 Simultaneously, it has been demonstrated that using TOF-SIMS after standard processes proved successful and provided a further enhancement, pushing TOF-SIMS towards operational deployment. 24 In addition, current research still faces challenges in developing handprints left on non-planar or large-sized objects, which creates difficulties in practical applications.…”