Forensic science and fingerprints

This free course, Forensic science and fingerprints, covers how science can make fingerprints easier to study, how they are used in court and some of the questions about the extent to which fingerprint identification is sound and scientific. Students will learn the principles used in classifying and matching fingerprints (often called marks).

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Introduction to fingerprints
• 1 Introduction to fingerprints
• 2 Fingerprints in identification
• 2 Fingerprints in identification
• 2.1 The use of fingerprints in identification and the classification of fingerprints
• 2.2 Certainty and uncertainty in identifications by fingerprint matching
• 2.3 Context and potential error in fingerprint analysis
• 2.4 The use of new technologies in fingerprint matching
• 3 The development of latent fingerprints
• 3 The development of latent fingerprints
• 3.1 The electromagnetic spectrum
• 3.2 Interactions of light and matter
• 3.3 Chemical tests
• Acid-base reactions
• Redox reactions
• 3.4 Final activities
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements