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Mara
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 9:08 pm: |       |
The JtR case occurred before it became accepted to dust for prints, didn't it? Was it even suggested by anyone or the police to attempt it in this case? When police finally did begin hunting up fingerprints at crime scenes, what did they use to do it? There wasn't even tape available back then, was there? Thanks for any help. |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 596
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 10:14 am: | |
Hi, Mara
You are absolutely correct that the Whitechapel murders took place before fingerprinting. To my knowledge, though I stand to be corrected, the police did not discuss the use of fingerprinting in the case at the time of the murders.
A recent book discusses the advent of fingerprinting which came into use in Britain in 1905. See the Casebook review of Colin Beaven, Fingerprints: The Origins of Crime Detection and the Murder Case That Launched Forensic Science
To answer your question on how detectives would have looked for fingerprints, it would have been the old method of dusting for them.
All the best
Chris
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RosemaryO'Ryan
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 6:36 am: | |
Hi Mara, Mr George,
While it is true there was no systematic process for the collation of fingerprinting and identification, it was certainly known in the colonies of Britian during the late 19th century e.g., India.
The imprimatur of a thumb-print on collection of wages allowed the owner of an estate to identify and punish those workers who collected their 'wage' more than once.
The idea was there...the question was how to impose this system of individual identification on the yeomen of England. The upsurge of criminality after the First World War with the return of 'dangerous men' from the Front Line was sufficient to force the Home Office to institute a policy of nation-wide finger-printing...under any pretext!
Today, the collection and collation of DNA obeys this same weary imperative...whereever & whenever.
Identification is power!
Rosey :-)
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