FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION
I. MANDATE OF FPID
Mission, Function & Capabilities of FPID
Mission: to provide technical laboratory support to the
Philippine National Police offices, other investigative
agencies of the government and private entities through
fingerprint processing and examination.
Functions:
a. The primary function of the Fingerprint Identification Division is
the collection and examination of fingerprint evidence of
criminal in nature. Compilation of laboratory reports,
preparation of reports & materials for court duties, and
presentations of expert testimony in court trial.
b. The secondary function is the maintenance of fingerprint files
(criminal and non-criminal) submitted for AFIS database from
the different police stations and other government agencies
nationwide.
Capabilities:
a. Provides speedy identification of the perpetrators of the crime
through information dissemination of “AFIS Hit” & “correlated
case results” to police investigators, thereby helps for the early
solution of crimes and administration of justice.
b. Examines and compares questioned finger, palm and foot prints
with the standard prints to determine the identity or non-
identity.
c. Undertakes chemical and/or physical development of latent
print evidence gathered at the crime scene
d. Conducts fingerprinting of suspects & wanted criminals, and
postmodern fingerprinting of cadaver beyond recognition or
under early stage of decomposition, maceration and desiccation
for purposes of identification and record files.
e. Provides technical training of its personnel with regards to
dactyloscopy so as to improve their knowledge and techniques
of collection and examination.
f. Conducts lecture on the science of fingerprint to PNP Training
School and other government and private agencies, upon
request.
g. Provides fingerprint expert testimony in civil and military courts
for the purpose of interpreting dactyloscopic reports based on
the examination performed.
II. INTRODUCTION TO FINGERPRINT
PRINCIPLES OF FINGERPRINTS
1. PERMANENCY – That fingerprint do not change in its ridge
characteristics through out of life time of an individual and they
persist after death until the skin is decomposed. (JCA Mayer
1788)
2. INDIVIDUALITY – That the complex of the ridge details in a
single fingerprint or even part is not duplicated in any other
finger. (Herman Welcker 1856)
3. INFALLIBILITY - That fingerprint is absolute and unerring
(Dr. Henry Faulds 1880)
IMPORTANCE OF FINGERPRINT
 Prevent impersonation
 Speedy identification of wrongdoer
 Serve to give evidence
 Helps to identify victim of disasters, calamities, floods etc.
 Identifies bodies, mutilated beyond recognition
 Aids the judiciary in penal treatment
 Prevent criminal substitution of newly born
 Help in the identification of falsified document
Definition of Fingerprint
 As an IMPRESSION:
It is the reproduction on some smooth surface of pattern or
design formed by the ridges on the inside of the end joint of the
fingers through the medium of ink or any coloring substance
capable of producing visibility
 As a SCIENCE:
It is the identification of person by means of the ridges of the
fingers to include the palms of the hands and the soles of the
feet.
3 General Groups of Fingerprint Pattern:
1. Arch
2. Loop
3. Whorl
Sub-groups
1. Plain arch – The types in which the ridges enter on one side of
the impression terminates or tend to terminate on the other
side with a rise of wave at the center.
2. Tented arch – The type in which most of the ridges enter on
one side of the impression terminate or tend to terminate on
the other side as in the plane arch type however at the center
do not.
3. Radial loop – The type in which the ridges enter on either side
of the impression recurve, touch or pass an imaginary line
drawn from delta to the core, terminate or tend to terminate
4. Ulnar loop – The type in which the ridges enter on either side
of the impression recurve, touch or pass an imaginary line
drawn from delta to the core, terminate or tend to terminate on
the same side of the impression from whence such ridge or
ridges entered. The ridges flow in the direction of the ulna
bone, towards the little finger.
5. Plain whorl - The type with two deltas and at least one ridge
making a complete circuit, which may be spiral, oval, circular or
any variant of a circle. An imaginary line drawn between two
deltas must touch or at least one of the recurving ridge within
the inner pattern area.
6. Central pocket loop whorl – The type with two deltas and at
least one ridge making a complete circuit, which may be spiral,
oval, circular or any variant of a circle. An imaginary line drawn
between two deltas must not touch or cross any of the
recurving ridge within the inner pattern area
7. Double loop whorl – The type consists of two separate loop
formations, with two separate and distinct sets of shoulder with
two deltas.
8. Accidental loop whorl – The type consisting of a combination
of two different types of pattern, with the exception of the
plane arch type, with two or more deltas: or a pattern which
possesses some of the requirements for two or more different
types; or a pattern which conforms to none of the definition.
Why Fingerprint Identification?
Fingerprints offer an infallible means of personal identification.
That is the essential explanation for their having supplanted other
methods of establishing the identities of criminals reluctant to admit
previous arrests.
Other personal characteristics change – fingerprints do not. In
earlier civilizations, branding and even maiming were used to mark the
criminal for what he was. The thief was deprived of the hand which
committed the thievery. The Romans employed the tattoo needle to
identify and prevent desertion of mercenary soldiers.
More recently, law enforcement officers with extraordinary
visual memories, so called “camera eyes”, identified old offenders by
sight. Photography lessened the burden on memory but was not the
answer to the criminal identification problem. Personal appearances
change.
Science of Fingerprints
Fingerprint is one of the most positive means of personal
identification. It has been found out that the intricate pattern on the
fingers are permanent, individual and never undergo a natural change,
except in the size of the pattern during the lifetime of individual.
Friction skin patterns/designs/formations appear on the
fingertips, palms of the hands and soles of the feet five (5) months before
birth this remained unchanged during the life of individual until
decomposition sets in after death.
Fingerprints offer an INFALLIBLE (unerring) means of personal
identification. This is an essential explanation for their having supplanted
other methods of establishing identity of criminals reluctant to admit
previous arrests. Other personal characteristics change but fingerprints do
not.
III. Letter of Instructions (LOIs) and Command
Memorandum Circular (CMC) set forth the
guidelines and procedures in the submission of
standards fingerprints and latent prints to PNPCL
for ASIS inquiry, verification, registration and the
utilization of AFIS hit resuts.
Letter of Instructions 03/09 dated June 16, 2009, sets forth the
procedures in the submission of ten-prints taken from arrested suspected
criminals during “booking” and latent prints collected by police
investigator from the crime scene to the PNP Crime Laboratory for AFIS
registration, inquiry and reference.
Letter of Instructions 04/09 dated November 25, 2009, prescribes
the guidelines and investigation procedures in the utilization of AFIS “HIT” Short ridge (Island) – friction ridges of varying lengths;
results to speed up the identification of criminal offenders for the early
solution of crimes and administration of justice. Spur (Hook) – is a bifurcation with one short ridge branching off a longer
ridge;
Letter of Instructions 02/10, dated October 14, 2010 sets forth the
Bridge – is a connecting friction ridge between parallel running ridges,
enhanced procedure to ensure that the fingerprints of all arrested
generally right angle.
suspected criminals are properly taken during the “booking” and that the
latent prints collected by the police investigators from the crime scene are
submitted to the PNP Crime Laboratory for AFIS registration, inquiry and
reference.

Letter of Instructions 02/11, dated March 23, 2011, sets forth the
enhanced procedure to be followed in all police stations nationwide to
ensure 100% collection of ten-prints of all booked suspects at the police
stations nationwide and its registration to the AFIS, CL, setting the
accountability of the COPs/ Station Commanders, Investigators and
fingerprint technicians and monitoring its compliance.

Letter of Instructions 01-2012, dated March 22, 2012, sets forth

the enhanced procedure to ensure that the latent prints are expeditiously
collected from simple or minor property crime scenes and subsequently
transmitted to the AFIS by designated investigators/Scene of the Crime
Operation (SOCO) Teams to provide investigative leads to patrol units/
field investigation units of the five (5) Districts of the National Capital
Region Police Office (NCRPO). Further, this will properly identify the crime
scenes which designated investigators and SOCO

DACTYLOSCOPY

It is the procedure of personal identification based on the study

and examination of the patterns that form arches,
loops and whorls on the fingertips, the palms of
the hands and the soles of the feet, as the method.

FINGERPRINT
- is the most positive means of personal identification,
it is the reproduction of some smooth surfaces of the pattern or design
formed by the ridges on the inside of the end joint of a finger or thumb.

Fingerprint as an impression - the impression made by the ridges on

the inside of the first joint of the finger or thumb on any surface through
the medium of sweat, inks or any ingredients capable of producing
visibility.

Fingerprint as a science – is the identification of a person by means of

the ridges appearing on the fingers, palms and on the soles of the feet.

DERMIS – the thick layer of living tissue below the epidermis that forms
the true skin, containing blood capillaries, nerve endings, sweat glands,
hair follicles, and other structures.

PORES – surface opening of the duct of a sweat gland.

FRICTION RIDGES – a raised portion of the epidermis on the palmar

(palm and fingers) or plantar (sole and toes) skin, consisting of
one or more connected ridge units of friction.

FURROWS – a valley on depression between friction ridges.

AFIS – A computerized system for digitizing, matching, storing, and

retrieving fingerprint image and textual.

Card Scan – an electronic scanning method of transmitting inked

fingerprint impression that meet local standards of investigation’s image
quality specification and that are suitable for Store and forward
processing.

Database – a collection of data of a particular type, organized for efficient

storage and retrieval (example: Fingerprint minutiae data, fingerprint
image data or mug shot image data).

Encoding – AFIS process used to record minutiae.

RIDGE CHARACTERISTICS
Ridge dot – an isolated unit whose length approximates its width in size;

Bifurcation – is the point at which one friction ridge divides into two
friction ridges;

Trifurcation – is the point at which one friction ridge divides into three
fiction ridges;

Ending ridge – is a single friction ridge that terminates within the friction
ridge structure;

Ridge crossing – is a point where two units intersect;

Enclosure (Lake) – is a single friction ridge that bifurcates and rejoin after
a short course and continuous as a single friction ridge;