Subjectivity is problematic when evaluating fingerprints,
and quality is in the eye of the examiner. But three computer programs used
together can give fingerprint grading unprecedented consistency and
objectivity, according to Penn State researchers.
"People leave behind all kinds of fingerprints, and the
job of a forensic examiner is then to look at a fingerprint and identify a
person who could have left it," said Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Charles Godfrey
Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Penn State.
"Various scenarios can be envisioned where a fingerprint can be seriously
altered. Once it is altered, it can conceivably lead the examiner to a false
conclusion."