A Report of Statistics from Latent Print Casework

Abstract

ABSTRACTStatistics were derived from casework from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Latent Print Unit. These data represented a portion of the latent print casework completed in the 2003/2004 calendar years (N = 673 cases) and 2009/2010 calendar years (N = 885 cases). The 2003/2004 data revealed latent print recovery rates from various exhibits. Identifiable latent prints were recovered 13% of the time on firearms, 13% of the time on plastic bags, and no identifiable latent prints were recovered from fired or unfired ammunition. The processing of evidence prior to submission to the laboratory increased the chances of latent print recovery. Both data sets were explored for the rate at which identifiable latent prints were reported (61% of cases in 2003/2004 and 54% of cases in 2009/2010) and the rate at which identifiable latent prints were subsequently identified to an individual in the case (23% of cases in 2003/2004 and 25% of cases in 2009/2010). There was no noticeable difference for the ...