FINGERPRINT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

Richard C. Kashindye
Assistant Lecturer in Forensic Science
UDOM
 INTRODUCTION

 The object of fingerprint classification is to provide means for the rapid identification of finger
marks left at scene of crime in case where the culprit is unknown.

 Also for provision for extended punishment for repeat offenders requires the search of pervious
records of culprits and since fingerprints does not change with time therefore are a perfect medium
to act as a basic searching tool for such records
 INTRODUCTION

 For the classification purposes the all the fingerprints of all the digits are recorded on the 10-digit
fingerprint slip (sample below).

 The impressions recorded are both

i. The rolled impressions

ii. The plain impressions

 THE ROLLED IMPRESSIONS

 Mean that the fingers are rotated from nail to nail from left to right to obtain the inked impression
of the fingers.

 These rolled impression are widen and provides a detailed account of the fingerprints

 Procedure for taking rolled impression

i. The finger is rolled to the inking plate until it is entirely covered with ink

ii. Press the finger lightly on the card and roll from side to side, transferring the ink to the card.

iii. The hand should be rolled from the awkward to the easy position.

a. The fingers should be rolled away from the center of the body.

b. The thumbs should be rolled toward the center of the body.

 THE PLAIN IMPRESSIONS

 Mean that the inked prints are obtained by merely slapping the fingers perpendicularly on the record
slip to obtain the prints.

 The purpose of taking these prints is to match the sequence of the rolled prints obtained earlier of
the same individual.

 Procedure for taking plain impression

i. All fingers should be inked at the same time and pressed onto the card simultaneously.

ii. If all four fingers will not fit in the box, then print three fingers and place the fourth on the
rear of the card, making note of this on the face of the card.

iii. The thumbs are then inked individually and taken separately.
 FINGERPRINT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 Classification of fingerprint for recording purpose

i. Different systems

ii. Henry system

 MAIN FP CLASSIFICATION METHODS, USED BY THE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

There are over fifty such methods in use throughout the different countries of the world.
Vucetich system : Used in Argentina & South America
Bertillons system : Used in France
Gasti system : Used in Italy
Lebedoff system : Used in Russia
Scotland system : Used in Scotland
Henry system : The system in almost universal use in the
United States is known as the “Henry system”.
 HENRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 Developed by Sir Edward Henry in the late 1800s for

criminal investigations in British India.

 Allows for the logical categorization of ten-print

fingerprint records into primary groups based on
fingerprint pattern types

 This reduces the effort to search a large number of

records

 Was the basis of modern day AFIS though methods

are changing
 HENRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 Thus, in the Ten-Digit classification system, the Ten-Digit fingerprint slip is analysed under the
following six classification system:

i. Key classification

ii. Major classification

iii. Primary classification

iv. Secondary classification

v. Sub-secondary classification

vi. Final classification

 KEY CLASSIFICATION

Fingers: All fingers except little fingers  It is the classification based on ridge count of

first loop patterns on the numerator excluding

Position: First value in classification line i.e.
the little finger.
before major division

 Key is the number

Patterns: Loops

Values: Ridge counting for loops

Numerator: Value always go to the numerator

Denominator: Not used

 HOW TO OBTAIN KEY CLASSIFICATION OF FINGERPRINT VALUES

Step 1: Identify all loops pattern.

 The very first step is to identify loops patterns that are appearing on the card.

Step 2: First loop from right to left.

 Start searching for loop patterns from the right thumb (finger #1) to the right ring (finger #4). If right

fingers are lacking, look for the same on prints from left thumb (finger #6) to left ring (finger #9).

 The ridge count of the very first appearance of the loop is used for defining this classification value.

Step 3: Placing Value in Henry Line.

 The value always sets in the beginning and above the henry classification line.
 EXAMPLES

ANSWER
EXAMPLES
PRACTICE
 MAJOR CLASSIFICATION

 This classification considers the patterns in thumb.

Numerator: Right thumb value (finger 1)

Denominator: Left thumb (finger 6)

Position: placed immediately to the left of the primary classification column.

Patterns: Loops and Whorls

Values: Ridge tracing and Ridge counting

 If the pattern is a loop, ridge counting is obtained.

 For whorl patterns, ridge tracing is considered.

 VALUES FOR LOOPS

 The values of loop counts are represented Loop Count Values for the Right Thumb
Case 1: Ridge count of the left thumb is 16 or less
by small (S), medium (M), or large (L)
 In this case, you can use the same values of the
Loop Count Values for the Left Thumb left thumb i.e.

 The left thumb (no. 6 fingers) has only one Small (S): 1 to 11
Medium (M): 12 to 16
set of values for loops. These are:
Large (L): 16+
Small (S): 1 to 11 Case 2: Ridge count of Left thumb is greater than 16
Medium (M): 12 to 16  For this, new sets of values are assigned for the
right thumb:
Large (L): 16+
Small (S): 1 to 17
Medium (M): 18 to 22
Large (L): 22+
 VALUES FOR WHORLS

 Whorl traces are represented in capital Inner (I), Meeting (M), and Outer (O). Following are the

respective values;

Meeting (M) = 0, 1, or 2 ridges inside or outside the right delta

Inner (I) = 3 or more inside the right delta.

Outer (O) = 3 or more outside the right delta

 PROCEDURE FOR MAJOR DIVISION CLASSIFICATION

Example
 Step 2: Finding Value for Left Thumb.
Step 1: Finding Patterns in Thumb
Ridge Count: 17 (as per table, the value is greater than
1. Left Thumb: Left Slant Loop (/). 16)

 Left Slant loop in left hand= Ulnar Loop. Major division value for LT: L

Step 3: Finding Value for Right Thumb

Ridge Count: 17
Ridge Count: 18
2. Right Thumb: Right Slant Loop (\).
 If the left thumb value is greater than 16, case 2

 Right Slant loop in right hand= Ulnar Loop. values are used.

Major division value for RT: M

Ridge Counting: 18
Step 4: Representing in Henry Fingerprint System
 Based on the above values, henry classification number would be:
Practice
 PRIMARY CLASSIFICATION

Fingers included: All fingers

Position in Henry number: rest in between major
division and secondary division.
Patterns: Only Whorls
Values:
Whorls: Specific assigned numbers for whorls.
Loops and Arches: Zero
Numerator: Sum of even fingers + 1
Denominator: Sum of odd fingers +1
Possible groups: 1024 (210)
Highest possible group value: 32/32
Lowest possible group value: 1/1
 PRIMARY CLASSIFICATION

 For the purposes of determining primary groups

all finger print patterns are divided into two
groups

1.Those that posses a numerical value

Whorl type patterns & Composites

(T.L., L.P., C.P., Accidentals)

2. Those that do not posses a numerical value

Arch and Loop type.
EXAMPLES 1
 HOW TO CALCULATE PRIMARY CLASSIFICATION NUMBER

Step 1: Identifying Whorl Patterns

Step 2: Assigning Whorl Values
Step 3: Addition of Even/Odd Finger Value Step 4: Adding ‘1’ to Them

Numerator: Sum of even-numbered fingers such as 2, 4, 6, 8, and  After adding all, it comes to be 10/27. Now, as per the

10 rule, add arbitrary 1 to both numerator and

Denominator: Sum of odd-numbered fingers such as 1, 3, 5, 7, denominator.

and 9 Numerator: 10 + 1= 11

Hence Denominator: 27 + 1= 28

Numerator: Adding all the even fingers=> 0 + 8 + 0 + 2 + 0 = 10  Finally, the primary division number = 11/28

Denominator: Adding all odd fingers=> 16 + 8 + 0+ 2 + 1 = 27

EXAMPLES 2
Step1: Identifying Whorl Patterns Step 2: Assigning Whorl Values
Step 3: Addition of Even/Odd Finger Value Step 4: Adding ‘1’

Numerator: Sum of Even finger: Numerator: 9 + 1= 10

0+8+0+0+1=9 Denominator: 24 + 1= 25

Denominator: Sum of odd fingers:  Finally, the primary group value = 10/25

16+8+0+0+0= 24
 SECONDARY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 Concerned with index fingers  The types of patterns identified under this
system are
 Secondary consists of capital letters.
i. A- Arches
Numerator: Right Index (finger 2)
ii. T- Tented arches

Denominator: Left Index (finger 7) iii. U- Ulnar loops

iv. R- Radial loops

Position: placed immediately right to primary
v. W- Whorls
classification column.
vi. X- Accidental
Patterns: All patterns.

Values: Capital Letter

 HOW TO CALCULATE SECONDARY CLASSIFICATION VALUE

Step 1: Identify Patterns

 Step 3: Representing in Henry Classification Line

Numerator: Right Index= R

Denominator: Left Index= U
 SECONDARY SMALL LETTER GROUPING

Fingers Used: Other than the Index finger

 In small lettered grouping, small letters are
Patterns: Plain Arches, Tented Arches, and
used which are given as:
Radial loops

Values: Small letter Arches = a

Numerator: Right hand Tented arches =t

Denominator: Left hand Radial loops =r

Position: With secondary division number

Absence of ‘a’, ‘r’, and ‘t’ = hyphen (-)
RULES WHILE USING SMALL LETTER FINGERPRINT GROUPING
EXAMPLES
Step 1: Identifying Fingerprint Patterns Step 2: Writing Small Letters
Right Hand Right Hand
Thumb = Plain Arch Thumb= Plain Arch =a
Index*= Whorl Index*= Whorl = W (Secondary no.)
Middle= Tented Arch Middle= Tented Arch= t
Ring= Ulnar Loop Ring= omitted (rule #3.5)
Little= Ulnar Loop Little= omitted (rule #3.5)
Left Hand Left Hand
Thumb= Ulnar loop Thumb= omitted.
Index*= Ulnar loop Index*= Ular= U (Secondary no.)
Middle= Ulnar loop Middle= Ulnar loop = – (hyphen for in-between
Ring= Plain arch ulnar loops and whorls)

Little= Ulnar loop Ring= Plain arch= a

Little= omitted
Step 3: Representing with Secondary Number
Numerator= aWt
Denominator= U-a
 The following is the small lettered grouping with secondary division in Henry classification number:
 SUBSECONDARY CLASSIFICATION

 Values of ridge counts and tracing of loops and whorls of the index, middle, and ring fingers.
Fingers Used: Index, Middle, and Ring finger

Numerator: Right Index, Middle, Ring (finger number 2, 3, 4)

Denominator: Left Index, Middle, and Ring (finger number 7, 8, 9)

Position in classifying line: immediately after secondary classification

Patterns: Loops and Whorls

Values: Ridge tracing and Ridge counting

 Ridge counting for loops

 Ridge Tracing for whorls

LETTER DESIGNATION FOR RIDGE COUNTING FOR LOOPS
 LETTER DESIGNATION FOR RIDGE TRACING OF WHORLS

 The ridge tracing is always considered with respect to the right delta. Following are the values for

index, middle and ring finger:

Meet (M) = 0, 1, or 2 ridges inside or outside the right delta

Inner (I) = 3 or more inside the right delta

Outer (O) = 3 or more outside the right delta

HOW TO CALCULATE SUB SECONDARY CLASSIFICATION NUMBER

Examples
Step 1: Identifying Patterns Step 2: Calculating Ridge Tracing and Counting

Index finger: Index finger

RI = Whorl RI = 2, outside the right delta

LI = Radial loop LI = 15

Middle finger Middle finger

RM = Ulnar loop RM = 14

LM = Whorl LM = 2, inside the right delta

Ring finger: Ring finger

RR = Ulnar loop RR = 16

LR = Whorl LR = 3, inside the right delta

Step 3: Respective Sub Secondary Classification Step 4: Representing in Henry Fingerprint System
Symbol Numerator: MOO
Index finger Denominator: OMI
RI Value = 2= M (whorl, M= 0,1,2) The following is the Henry number for this 10-digit
LI Value = 15= O (loop, O= 9+) card.

Middle finger

RM Value = 14 = O (loop, O=10+)

LM Value = 2 = M (whorl, M= 0,1,2)

Ring finger

RR Value = 16 = O (loop, O=13+)

LR Value = 3= I (whorl, I= 3 or more inside the

right delta)
PRACTICE SET
 FINAL CLASSIFICATION.

 Ridge count of loops appearing on the little fingers.

 if loops are absent in both the little finger, then the classification bears no final.

Fingers: Little fingers of one hand*

Position: in last, right to sub secondary classification

Patterns: Loops (or Whorls*, rarely used)

Values: Ridge counting for loops (or whorls)

Numerator: Right little finger

*Denominator: Left little finger

 RULES FOR FINAL CLASSIFICATION OF FINGERPRINTS

Rule 1. Right Little finger is always preferred:

 If the right little finger has a loop, regardless of what is on the left little finger, the ridge count
value is always evaluated from it.

 Rule 2: Right Little finger has no loop:

 Ridge count values are taken from the left little fingers.

Rule 3. No loops in either of the little fingers:

 Whorls are used and preference should be given to the right little finger.

Rule 4. Ridge Counts for Whorls:

 Even if the little finger has a whorl, the ridge counting value is evaluated not ridge tracing.
EXAMPLE
Step 1: Identifying pattern on Little Fingers

Right Little Finger: Whorl (omitted, rule #2)

Left Little Finger: Ulnar loop

Step 2: Defining Ridge Count

Left Little Finger: 12

Step 3: Final Classification Number

Denominator: 12
 MANUAL AND AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

 In earlier times, the fingerprint experts manually performed the entire process of analyzing and

matching the latent prints.

 However, over the years, some manual processes got automated leading to the automated latent

fingerprint identification system.

 This section provides insight of the manual procedure and the automated procedure for analyzing

the latent finger- prints.

MANUAL FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
 AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM (AFIS)

 The Automated Fingerprint Identification System - a computer system for storing and retrieving
fingerprints

 Began in the early 1970’s.

 Search large files for a set of prints taken from an individual.

 Compare a single print, usually a latent print developed from a crime scene.

 By the 1990’s most large jurisdictions had their own system in place.
 FINGERPRINT ACQUISITION

 The first issue that must be addressed is how the  For use in automated systems, this print
fingerprints will be acquired in a digital format.
would then be scanned into a digital format.
 Latent fingerprints are prints that are ‘lifted’’ from
 Obviously this method is not feasible for
crime scenes. The latent prints are developed
biometric systems that perform matching in
 using fingerprint powders and chemical processes,
real-time.
photographed and scanned using a high-resolution
scanner.  Such systems use hardware devices

specifically designed for scanning

 The traditional method for police to obtain prints of a
suspect in custody is to dab the finger tips in ink and fingerprints.

then roll them onto fingerprint cards.  This is known as ‘‘ink-less’’ (or ‘‘live-scan’’)
 This is known as ‘‘inked’’ (or ‘‘offline’’) acquisition. acquisition
 IMAGE ENHANCEMENT

 Fingerprint images can sometimes be of poor quality because of noise introduced during the
acquisition process.

 For example: a finger may be dirty, a latent print may be lifted from a difficult surface, the
acquisition medium (paper card or lives can) may be dirty, or noise may be introduced during the
interaction of the finger with the sensing surface (such as slippage or other inconsistent contact).

 When presented with a poor-quality image, a forensic expert would use a magnifying glass and try
to decipher the fingerprint features in the presence of the noise.

 Automatic fingerprint image-enhancement algorithms can significantly improve the quality of

fingerprint ridges in the fingerprint image

 And make the image more suitable for further manual or automatic processing.
 FEATURE EXTRACTION

 Features extracted from a fingerprint image are generally categorized into three levels.

 Level 1 features capture macro details such as friction ridge flow, pattern type, and singular points.

 Level 2 features refer to minutiae such as ridge bifurcations and endings.

 Level 3 features include all dimensional attributes of the ridge such as ridge path deviation, width,

shape, pores, edge contour, and other details, including incipient ridges, creases, and scars.
 MATCHING

 The exercise of finding the similarity or dissimilarity in any two given fingerprint images.

 A fingerprint matching module computes a match score between two fingerprints, which should be

high for fingerprints from the same finger and low for those from different fingers.
 FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION.

 When minutiae on two different prints match, these are called points of similarity or points of

identification.

 At this point there is no international standard for the number of points of identification required

for a match between two fingerprints.

 However, the United Kingdom requires a minimum sixteen points

 While Australia requires twelve.

 There are no legal requirements in the United States on the number of points.

 Generally, criminal courts will accept 8 to 12 points of similarity.