The "Science" of Fingerprinting

Fingerprinting as a Science and a Point of Evidence in Court Finger print evidence is by no means an exact science; yet, it does, unfortunately, weigh a great deal in the minds of jurors who give it more credit than it deserves. Fingerprints are unique to every person - it is estimated that the chance of two people having the same fingerprint is one in sixty-four billion - however, many cases occur in which the …

…a 'match.'" In conclusion, despite fingerprinting's more than one hundred years in forensic science, it should not swing a case one way or another. It is too open to interpretation that it should be used only as a guide and a starting point from which more accurate scientific forensic procedures can be used. Jurors need to realise that it is not so simple and straightforward - that a 'match' means guilt. By Anastasi Kosmadopoulos