Everything you need to know about the different types of fingerprints - Legal Inquirer (2023)

While every human being has a different fingerprint, it may be of interest to you to know that there are specific patterns exhibited by fingerprints. Follow this article to explore the different types of fingerprints and how they are used for evidence and identification purposes.

The fact that no two fingerprints are the same, even for twins, often leaves many people in awe. We often wonder how criminal authorities use fingerprints to identify murderers and what is behind fingerprint identification. The answer lies in the patterns of the fingerprints. Fingerprints are the result of small friction grooves that are present at the ends of an individual's fingers, thumbs, and toes and are arranged in a pattern of whorls and loops.

Each individual has a different number, shape, location, and overall structure of their ridges. This is what makes your fingerprints unique. Although they decrease somewhat with aging, they do not change or change with age. Injuries such as burns or cuts also do not affect the structure of the fingerprint ridges.

Have you ever wondered how such a small fingerprint pattern is transferred to other surfaces? Well, that's because each ridge has sweat glands that produce sweat, and as a result, the ridges from your fingerprints are transferred to the surfaces you touch. This is exactly how criminal investigators can collect fingerprints at a crime scene.

From biometric identification to criminal investigation, fingerprints are used for a variety of purposes. Many institutions, such as hospitals and banks, use fingerprint recognition for security purposes. However, the largest use of fingerprints is in criminal investigation authorities and law enforcement agencies. This is because fingerprints are the key elements in solving criminal cases.

This article will explore different types of fingerprints, their structure, and how they vary from one another. So let's start.

What are fingerprints?

Fingerprints refer to the pattern formed by the grooves found on a person's fingertips. This rough pattern is found not only on the fingertips, but also on the toes, soles, and palms of the hands. It is different for each individual. Fingerprints are totally unique; no two humans have been found with the same fingerprint pattern. There is a one in sixty to four billion chance that one person's fingerprint will exactly match another person's fingerprint.

Adding to the uniqueness, even two fingers of the same person cannot have the same fingerprints. Each finger or toe has a unique fingerprint that is different from other fingerprints.

Yes, that is correct. Fingerprints are so unique that even two identical twins have different fingerprints. They may have the same DNA, which is the genetic material of human cells, but they cannot have the same fingerprints. So even if you fool everyone with your identical appearance, they can't fool the fingerprint test. In this way, fingerprints are even more unique than DNA.

The ridges that form fingerprints are called friction ridges that contain pores and sweat glands. These sweat glands produce sweat, and as a result, people leave fingerprints on almost everything they touch. While the main scientific function of these friction grooves is to help us grasp objects and not let them slip from our hands, fingerprint patterns are now used in significant ways for legal, social, and many other scientific aspects.

Fingerprints are usually recorded in ink on paper and digitally on a computer. They are used as person identifiers in a variety of ways. Many organizations identify people based on their fingerprints. Today, electronic biometric readers are commonly used on cell phones and many other digital devices. Speaking of crime scenes, fingerprints play a vital role in providing crucial evidence to find the real criminal.

fingerprint history

The use of fingerprints dates back to ancient times. History shows that fingerprints were recorded many centuries ago, although they were not as refined as they are now.

At that time, the Babylonians used to press the pads of their thumbs and fingers on clay tablets and seals and used them as signatures to record business matters. The ancient Chinese were one step ahead of the Babylonians and used ink to record their fingerprints on paper for business and identification purposes.

The bumps and loops present in the fingerprint were first observed by the physiologist Marcello Malpighi when he examined the fingerprints with the aid of a microscope in the year 1686. In 1823, another physiologist, Jan Purkinje, indicated at least nine different patterns. in the footprints human fingerprints. However, the first to prove its scientific essence was Sir Francis Galton, anthropologist and eugenicist.

As one of the pioneers in fingerprint identification, Galton's discoveries played an important role in the study and practicality of identifying people with their fingerprints. He used to study traits and how they were transferred genetically from one generation to the next. When he heard about fingerprints, he immediately became interested in them and began studying and researching them.

Through his studies, Galton discovered that fingerprints are unique and that no two human beings can have the same fingerprint. He also discovered that fingerprints stay the same throughout a person's life and do not change with age. Using his new knowledge of fingerprints, Galton published a book in 1892 called "Fingerprints", where he listed the three types of fingerprints; loop, arc and spiral. This was the first fingerprint classification and is still used today.

Not long after, law enforcement and crime agencies also recognized the potential value of fingerprinting in identifying criminals. Sir Edward Richard Henry, a London Metropolitan Police Commissioner stationed in India, soon became interested in fingerprint recognition for criminals and began to develop a fingerprint classification system.

Henry studied the works of Sir Francis Galton and added to Galton's study of classification by creating his own fingerprint classification system. EITHERhenry grading systemit was based on the direction, flow, pattern and other characteristics of the fingerprint patterns. It was then used as the primary fingerprint classification method in most of the world.

In the early 20th century, Scotland Yard founded its first fingerprint department based on the fingerprint classification system created by Sir Edward Henry. The year 1903 marked the institution of a fingerprint system in the New York Police Department, the New York prison system and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and later the FBI. In 1905, the US military also began using fingerprint identification.

Types of fingerprints

Fingerprints are unique, but based on their classification, an individual's fingerprints fall into one category or another. The fingerprint classification system found by Sir Henry Edward classified fingerprint patterns into three different types. These categories were later subcategorized and are still in use today. The three main categories include arch, loop, and whorl. These, along with their subcategories, are described below.

fingerprint arch

The arch is the rarest type of fingerprint. This fingerprint pattern is found in only 5% of the total world population. It is shaped such that the ridges extend from one side of the fingertip to the other side of the fingertip without making any backward curve. The arched fingerprint pattern lacks or has very few edge lines, nuclei, or deltas. Even if there is a delta, there is no recurved or retrograde ridge to impinge between the nucleus and the delta points. There are two more subcategories included in the arch pattern.

Single-Arc Fingerprint

Although the simple arc fingerprint pattern is the rarest of all, it is also one of the easiest fingerprint patterns to recognize or discern. This pattern is characterized by raised ridges that constantly flow from one side of the finger to the other in a continuous manner. The ridges usually start on one side of the finger, move up, and then come back to the other side of the finger.

It's more like little arcs built slowly from the heart or center point of the fingertip. These types of fingerprints are often perceived as ocean waves because they form a wave-like pattern.

Arc Fingerprint Attempt

The tent arch fingerprint is similar to the simple arch fingerprint in that the bumps in both types of fingerprints move from one side of the finger and flow to the other side of the finger in a consistent manner. The difference is in the arc or pitch of the raised edge. As the name suggests, this type of fingerprint has a sharper edge than a simple arc fingerprint, forming a tent-shaped arc. The tent arch is in the center and is not continuous and consistent like the simple arch.

This type of fingerprint has sharper impulses toward the heart or the middle of the fingertip, which appear to form a tent. Arch fingerprints are not as rare as simple arch fingerprints.

fingerprint loop

The Loop fingerprint pattern is one of the most popular fingerprint patterns, constituting 60% to 70% of the total population. Unlike arc fingerprints, where there is no backward movement of the ridge, the ridges in loop fingerprints move backward without twisting. A looped fingerprint pattern has only one delta and at least one core. When this fingerprint is printed on a card, it creates a reverse image of the fingerprint, exactly as we see it in a mirror.

Ulnar loop fingerprint

The ansa cubitalis fingerprints get their name from a forearm bone called theulna. It is because the ridges in this pattern run from the thumb of an individual's hand to the little finger of the hand, the same side where theulnabone is found. The ulnar loop fingerprint is characterized by a small loop; which means that the ridges move back slightly, without making a sharp turn. The handles move towards the little finger; this is how the ulnar loop fingerprint pattern is identified.

Radial Loop Fingerprint

Radial loop fingerprints also get their name from a bone in the forearm called theray. This is because the ridges in this pattern run from the little finger of an individual's hand to the thumb of the hand, the same side where the finger is located.raybone is found. This means that the downward slope of the radial loop is from the little finger to the thumb of the hand. This type of looped fingerprint is not very common and is found mainly on the index fingers.

Double Loop Fingerprint

It's called a double-loop fingerprint because there are two different loops in this pattern. Both loops are separate and each has an individual shoulder for each core. In addition, there are two deltas and more than one mountain range. When combined, all of these elements form a complete circuit.

spiral fingerprint

The spiral fingerprint pattern is neither rare nor common. It is found in almost 25% to 35% of the total world population. As the name implies, the bumps in this fingerprint pattern form a spiral. Some of these ridges curve in at least one loop. Therefore, the spiral fingerprint pattern has one nucleus and two deltas.

Simple spiral fingerprint

This is the simplest form of a spiral fingerprint. A simple whorl consists of a continuous circular or spiral pattern that forms a whorl. Ridges in a simple spiral pattern curve to create a complete loop with two deltas.

Central pocket spiral handle fingerprint

In the fingerprint on the back of the center pocket, the center protrudes into the curve of the pattern more than once. So there is at least one recurved ridge. The spiral ridges form a single complete circle in any direction; it can be spiral, oval or simply circular or round.

double spiral digital printing

This type of fingerprint is not easy to recognize and can only be recognized by close observation. The double spiral fingerprint pattern appears to contain two separate loops or spirals, which wind in different directions.

Accidental spiral fingerprint

Accidental spiral fingerprint consists of a combination of two different types of fingerprint patterns that have two or more deltas.

Advantages of fingerprint biometrics

Today, fingerprints have gone beyond the purposes of identification and police use. This is usually because fingerprints have made our lives much easier than before. Convenience is one of the biggest advantages of fingerprint biometrics. When you don't need to enter your password or PIN for any access or unlocking purpose and can simply use your fingertip for this purpose, it saves time and is done quickly. And you don't have to remember your password or PIN all the time, either.

In addition, there are also security benefits. Fingerprints can help put a secure lock on many devices and access portals. Your password or PIN is more likely to be stolen or discovered, but who can steal your fingerprints? So with fingerprints, you get the double benefit of security and convenience. This is an indication that the adoption of fingerprint biometrics will continue to grow in the coming years to become a mainstream technology.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the use of fingerprint biometrics. When all work in our daily lives became contactless, fingerprints were used for many purposes, including contactless payments, transactions, and access to many things that would otherwise involve contact.

Applications of fingerprints in everyday life.

From an area of ​​interest for research and study to an identification tool, fingerprinting has come a long way. Once confined to the world of science fiction, there's hardly a day now that we don't interact with some kind of fingerprint. In today's era, we are surrounded by biometric technology. Whether we're unlocking our phones or safely boarding a flight, we use our fingerprints almost every day.

There are many fingerprint applications in our daily lives, but below we have listed some of the essential biometric fingerprint applications in our daily lives.

Law enforcement and criminal investigation agencies

This is perhaps one of the largest and oldest applications of fingerprinting. The use of fingerprints for investigative and criminal identification purposes dates back to the 19th century. In 1892, the policeman Juan Vucetich solved a case in which two children were murdered in the town of Necochea. He used the suspects' fingerprints to discover the identity of the real killer, who was the mother of the children. This was the first time that fingerprints had been used in a criminal investigation. Since then, it has become a common practice that is still practiced today.

Currently, fingerprint biometrics are commonly used in law enforcement and criminal investigation agencies, such as the FBI and other intelligence agencies around the world. The first step in examining a crime scene is to collect all of the fingerprints that were left at the scene. And suppose the researchers find a match in your database where the fingerprints of all citizens are stored. In that case, it helps the authorities to find out the whereabouts of the criminal and eventually solve the case easily.

Access and authentication for digital devices

There is not a single day that we do not use our fingerprints to unlock our phones or other digital devices. Your smartphone's fingerprint sensor is one of the most common examples of your everyday fingerprints. Smartphone giant Apple was the first to introduce fingerprint touch sensors to unlock smartphones.

Not just on your smartphone, you can also find fingerprint lock mechanisms in many individual apps. People prefer fingerprint locks on sensitive apps like banking or messaging apps.

Access to buildings and restricted areas

Whether in your home or office, fingerprint biometrics is a commonly used way to allow access and authentication to restricted devices, buildings or parts of your office.

When access to a building is controlled using fingerprint biometrics, it not only makes it easier for authorized personnel to enter the building, but also makes the building more secure. Although access cards, keys or any other type of password can be stolen, it is difficult and almost impossible to pass a biometric fingerprint identifier.

banker

Banking is another sector where fingerprint biometrics is prevalent. In order for their clients to have a more integrated service, banks are making use of fingerprints in different transactions and areas. As everything in the world is rapidly becoming digital, banks around the world are also eager to implement fingerprint biometrics as it will help in customer and employee identification and improved and seamless customer experience.

In recent years, banks have faced a lot of fraud and identity theft. That's why customers care about protecting their identity and constantly need to prove their identity over and over again. This is why customers are switching to digitized banks that allow biometric identification to avoid all the hassles. This gives banks more reason to use biometric fingerprint identification services.

Conclusion

So you see, fingerprints are an important part of our lives; we use fingerprints at all times in our daily routine. Fingerprints also play an important role in law enforcement. If it weren't for fingerprints, several criminals would be on the loose and continuing their ferocious crimes.

No two people have the same fingerprint; not even two fingers of the same individual. But there may be similar standards for classifying them into different categories. I hope this article has helped you learn about the different types of fingerprints and how they differ from each other.