What Would Your Clothes Say?

Forensics experts from Abertay Dundee University and the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) have made it possible to isolate fingerprint details and impressions from fabrics.

By using vacuum metal deposition (VMD) techniques, gold and zinc vapors attach to areas that are not covered with fingerprint residue; this results in a photographic-negative type of effect. VMD has been used for detection of fingerprints on bags, plastics, and glass for some time already. It was tested for its use with fabrics through a trail-and-error method to see how the VMD conditions affected prints on a range of fabrics.

Fabrics with a high thread-count were the best for revealing a fingerprint, while materials like cotton and wool proved to be more challenging. In addition to fabric type, print clarity also depends on how much a person sweats. The Engineer reports that only 20% of the public are classified as "good donors" when it comes to leaving prints behind.

Even if a full fingerprint can't be recovered, this method can help investigators in criminal cases. One example is if a victim was pushed off a balcony or if they jumped; if they were pushed, their clothing may contain a partial palm or fingerprint.

The team behind this advancement sees the biggest use value in gathering DNA from garments. They say that evidence gathered in this way may not be enough to convict someone, but could be used in conjunction with other gathered evidence to present a "more robust case" in court proceedings.

Source: The Engineer