Recovery of latent prints from human skin

Abstract

A review of personal experience, published accounts, interviews, case reports, and data collected from more than 4,000 student questionnaires pertaining to the recovery of latent prints from human skin is presented. The surface conditions of the body and the ambient environment (temperature and humidity) are discussed, and recommendations are presented to achieve optimum results. This article provides a guideline for the processing of human skin for latent prints and suggests that efforts to obtain latent prints from human skin are sporadic and should be increased.