Scientific Police Research Articles

The ghost dead: ethical and medico legal analysis on the Mediterranean tragedies.

Cadaveric identification represents a legal, moral and medico-legal obligation and also fulfills the ethical function to allow the living to offer their dead a merciful burial. In the Mediterranean basin we have been witnessing for years a struggle for life where hundreds of migrants die in an attempt to reach Europe. For these people right to be recognized is not easy because of ante-death biological data are not always available for comparison, and DNA analysis is not always feasible cause for the absence of data with which to compare. In Italy a multidisciplinary protocol has been adopted that involves the acquisition of data provided by family members present in the countries of origin. Between August 2015 and December 2021, bodies of 879 migrants of various nationalities washed up on the shores of Sicily and Calabria. These men, women, and children, in various states of preservation, were examined. Each body underwent a multidisciplinary approach. External examination and autopsy aimed to determine the cause of death for judicial purposes and to facilitate individual identification. Whenever possible bodies underwent total body post-mortem computed tomography examination to identify fractures and prosthetic implants. including inspection of the third molar to provide an estimate of the age. The activity carried out in cooperation with Prefecture, Scientific Police, and National and International Red Cross highlighted the importance of employing multiple scientific skills to compensate for the lack of biological information. The importance of appropriate behaviors to avoid contamination and ensure proper preservation underlines the importance of the establishment of a dedicated database.

Entomological data from the first year of the Forensic Entomology Division formalization at Santa Catarina Scientific Police

Entomological data from the first year of the Forensic Entomology Division formalization at Santa Catarina Scientific Police

MLuq Protocol: A Proposal for the Immobilization of the White Weapon, Preservation of DNA Traces, and Its Chain of Custody.

Unprecedentedly, this article presents a useful management protocol for the workers in emergency situations assisting victims of white weapon aggressions with a dual innovation. It could presage a possible advance in the healthcare management of these patients and support important repercussions in the legal field when this type of wound is inflicted due to an aggression. The MLuq protocol has been agreed by consensus in a multidisciplinary manner including experts belonging to the state security forces (judicial and scientific Police), to the healthcare area (surgical nursing, emergency medicine, general cardiothoracic and digestive surgery, and the legal and forensic medicine area), to the legal system (a jurist specialized in the area), and to the academic sphere. It is the first paper to propose purse string sutures as a weapon immobilization technique, as well as a set of actions designed to obtain biological traces of legal interest and to preserve the chain of custody. Therefore, it is a useful tool for the health and legal personnel, and especially for the victims.

The mystery behind the apprehensions of the selective cannabinoid receptor type-2 agonist BZO-HEXOXIZID (MDA-19) as a drug of abuse.

MDA-19 or BZO-HEXOXIZID (N'-[(3Z)-1-(1-hexyl)-2-oxo-1,2-dihydro-3H-indol-3-ylidene]-benzohydrazide), in a more recent nomenclature, was first synthesized in 2008 as a selective type-2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2) agonist due to its potential to treat neuropathic pain. In Brazil, this substance was identified in a series of 53 apprehensions between September 2021 and February 2022. Nevertheless, what intrigues toxicologists is that BZO-HEXOXIZID does not exert significant type-1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) agonism-which is responsible for the well-known psychoactivity of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Thus, the objective of this work is to report the first apprehension and identification of BZO-HEXOXIZID in Brazil and to discuss pharmacologically the possible reasons why a CB2 agonist has been incorporated to the illicit market. Suspected seized samples were sent to the Laboratory of the Scientific Police of the State of Sao Paulo. After the screening, samples were confirmed for the presence of BZO-HEXOXIZID using chromatography gas-mass spectrometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. Of the 53 samples analyzed, 25 contained only BZO-HEXOXIZID and 28 with mixtures, of which 11 with the CB1 agonist ADB-BUTINACA. Other substances were found in association such as cocaine and caffeine. BZO-HEXOXIZID was detected in a series of seized materials for the first time in Brazil. Nevertheless, there are still unanswered questions regarding the use of this selective CB2 agonist as a drug of abuse.

Quantification of forensic genetic evidence: Comparison of results obtained by qualitative and quantitative software for real casework samples

To overcome the multifactorial complexity associated with the analysis and interpretation of the capillary electrophoresis results of forensic mixture samples, probabilistic genotyping methods have been developed and implemented as software, based on either qualitative or quantitative models. The former considers the electropherograms’ qualitative information (detected alleles), whilst the latter also takes into account the associated quantitative information (height of allele peaks). Both models then quantify the genetic evidence through the computation of a likelihood ratio (LR), comparing the probabilities of the observations given two alternative and mutually exclusive hypotheses.In this study, the results obtained through the qualitative software LRmix Studio (v.2.1.3), and the quantitative ones: STRmix™ (v.2.7) and EuroForMix (v.3.4.0), were compared considering real casework samples. A set of 156 irreversibly anonymized sample pairs (GeneMapper files), obtained under the scope of former cases of the Portuguese Scientific Police Laboratory, Judiciary Police (LPC-PJ), were independently analyzed using each software. Sample pairs were composed by (i) a mixture profile with either two or three estimated contributors, and (ii) a single contributor profile associated. In most cases, information on 21 short tandem repeat (STR) autosomal markers were considered, and the majority of the single-source samples could not be a priori excluded as belonging to a contributor to the paired mixture sample. This inter-software analysis shows the differences between the probative values obtained through different qualitative and quantitative tools, for the same input samples. LR values computed in this work by quantitative tools showed to be generally higher than those obtained by the qualitative. Although the differences between the LR values computed by both quantitative software showed to be much smaller, STRmix™ generated LRs are generally higher than those from EuroForMix. As expected, mixtures with three estimated contributors showed generally lower LR values than those obtained for mixtures with two estimated contributors.Different software products are based on different approaches and mathematical or statistical models, which necessarily result in the computation of different LR values. The understanding by the forensic experts of the models and their differences among available software is therefore crucial. The better the expert understands the methodology, the better he/she will be able to support and/or explain the results in court or any other area of scrutiny.

Amorphous calcium phosphate nanoparticles allow fingerprint detection via self-activated luminescence

Herein, stable activator-free photoluminescent nanoparticles based on amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) were obtained for the first time, and their performance for latent fingerprint imaging was investigated. ACP nanoparticles with irregular rounded shape and diameters in 10–40 nm range were prepared by a rapid and simple chemical precipitation followed by heat treatment at 400 °C for 4 h. Notably, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence excitation and emission measurements reveal a high density of localized energy states within the wide optical band gap of heat-treated ACP (Eg = 5.25–5.42 eV). This behavior allowed the excitation of ACP in near-ultraviolet region (λexc = 450 nm, 2.75 eV), leading to an intense defect-related broadband (490–890 nm) photoluminescence emission centered at 540 nm (2.30 eV), 50 times more intense than untreated nanoparticles. The effect of lattice shrinkage due to structural water elimination, the presence of ionic vacancies (VCa and VO in PO43-) and carbonate groups (CO32-), on the luminescent properties of ACP were discussed in detail, as well as investigated after aqueous-mediated ACP crystallization into hydroxyapatite (HA). ACP nanoparticles were non-cytotoxic, as determined by MTT assay in Human Dermal Fibroblast neonatal (HDFn) cell line, with cell viabilities superior to 95% in all tested concentrations (20–320 μg/mL), after incubation for 24 and 48 h. Latent fingerprint images were obtained using the ACP nanoparticles under near-ultraviolet irradiation (λexc = 450 nm) in tweezers and LCD smartphone and successfully validated by the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System used by Scientific Police in Spain. The present results evidenced that the new luminescent ACP nanoparticles are safe to be used and agree with the forensic requirements for future legal actions.

VÍTIMAS DE VIOLÊNCIA SEXUAL ATENDIDAS NO IML DE AFOGADOS DA INGAZEIRA – PE NO ANO DE 2018

INTRODUCTION: Sexual violence is any action in which an individual in a power situation forces another to engage in sexual practice against their will. The Institute of Forensic Medicine (IML) located in Afogados da Ingazeira, Pernambuco, Brazil, was established to perform sexological medical examinations. The objective of this study was to analyse medical forensic reports from victims of sexual violence admitted at the IML in 2018. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a descriptive study, comprising all sexological expert reports from the GDL System of the Regional Unit of the Scientific Police of Afogados da Ingazeira between its foundation in July 2018 and Dec. 31st 2018. RESULTS: From the 17 medical records analyzed, it was established that the average age of the victims was 13 years, most of them female (94%). In two cases (11,76%), the aggressor was unknown, in the other cases, most were from the same family environment as the victm. Thirteen victims considered themselves brown and four claimed to be white. Nine cases occurred in the urban area and eight in the rural area. Approximately 12% of victims reported alcohol consumption before the abuse. As for the characterization of sexual abuse, 35% corresponded to the carnal conjunction. DISCUSSION: In this scenario of a small number of cases, there was a predominance of 88,2% of aggressions perpetrated by the victim’s relatives and acquaintances, which is higher than the rate found in another study carried out in the State of Santa Catarina where there is a predominance of 50,9% of cases of sexual aggression arising from family members and acquaintances. CONCLUSION: Victims of sexual violence are on average young women who declare themselves to be brown, and having a friend or family member as perpetrator.

Interpopulational differences in the frequency and distribution of delta types

The classification of the main pattern types, arch, loop and whorls, is based on the number and location of deltas or triradii, which are areas defined by the confluence of three ridge systems carrying different directions on the fingerprint. Despite being areas that give place to an important morphological variability, their study has only been approached from the quantitative point of view, in relation to the number with which they appear per finger, hand, or individual (intensity pattern), and their sexual and population differences; while the qualitative aspects have not been evaluated so far. The following paper aims to study and analyze the qualitative variability, both intra and interpopulation, of the frequency of occurrence of the different types of deltas or triradii, in four fingerprint samples from males of different population origin: 100 individuals from China, 100 individuals from Colombia, 100 individuals from Nigeria and 100 individuals from Romania, which has meant the analysis of 4000 fingerprints. For this purpose, the classification of 24 types used by the Scientific Police and Criminalist Departments of the Guardia Civil of Spain has been employed. The results obtained showed the non-equiprobability of the frequency distribution of the different delta types in the four populations. In all cases, sunk open total deltas (Hat), sunk open total with point (Hat(p)) and tripod long (Tl) were the most frequent types, while the sunk closed total with point (Hct(p)) had the lowest frequency. Furthermore, for the first time, interpopulation differences in the frequency distribution of different types of deltas have become noticeable. The data provided in this paper are a pioneer in the field of dactyloscopy and can be used as a reference by the departments of criminalistics of the different countries for the estimation of the scientific value of the evidence in dactyloscopy.

Detecção de canabinoide sintético na ausência de padrão utilizando técnicas espectroscópicas e espectrométricas: Um relato de caso

The detection of synthetic cannabinoids represents a huge challenge for Forensic Toxicology, due to the great variety of structures, the difficulty in obtaining analytical standardsand the need for constant updating of methodology and spectral libraries. However, thecombination of spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques allows, respecting international quality recommendations, the obtention of an analytical result that makes it possibleto establish the presence of substances of this pharmaceutical class. The purpose of thisstudy is to present a case report of a stamp that was sent to the Narcotics ExaminationCenter of the Superintendence of the Technical and Scientific Police of the State of SaoPaulo for analysis. For this purpose, the suspicious material was extracted with methanoland gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was applied, with concomitant analysis by the Spectroscopy technique in the Infrared region with Fourier Transform.The analysis by Mass Spectrometry, after separation by gas chromatography, and by Spectroscopy in the Infrared region with Fourier Transform allowed the identification of thesubstance 5F-MDMB-PICA, with a good match percentage in both techniques. The use ofa combination of spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques, combined with separationtechniques, are sufficient tools for the detection, within international standards, of proscribed substances belonging to the group of synthetic cannabinoids.

Legal, social and ethical analysis on compulsory DNA collection in the forensic sciences of Albania

“DNA fingerprinting” through the taking of blood and other secretions of the human body is considered as one of the most revolutionary advances in forensic identification and is of particular interest to forensic medicine. Although DNA identification has to do with personal identity, it is possible to test the material for this examination, from respective laboratories, together with the DNA on the whole. In contrast to fingerprinting (the science of fingerprints, used in forensic practice to identify a person, since the early 1900s), the forensic use of DNA samples for identification requires more care because it risks compromising the privacy and individual freedoms. It is therefore necessary that these examinations strictly respect the ethical rules of consent and confidentiality. In our country, where DNA examinations for resolving criminal and civil cases have started to be performed by the scientific police institute, only after the 2000s, this type of examination was not provided in the 1995 Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 199 of this code only stated that in relation to blood sampling, it can be performed even without the will of the person, if there is no risk to health. Then in 2017, in an amendment of this code, in article 201 / a, is presented the detailed procedure that must be observed for taking samples of blood and other tissues of the human body for performing DNA analysis, where first of all, the consent of the person to be examined must be respected, without excluding the possibility of taking them compulsorily. In this study, the authors, after the presentation of some features of DNA uses in forensic sciences, analyze in detail the important issue of consent and confidentiality, which reflect the principle of independence of the person in the fields of medical sciences, compared to that of consent and confidentiality in criminal matters, including that of DNA analysis. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the application in Albania of DNA analysis in criminal and civil cases requires great care in implementing the procedures set out in the relevant legislation, including the principles of consent and confidentiality in obtaining and storing their data for respecting human rights and preserving human dignity.

Drowning in the elderly in Paraíba-Brazil

Drowning is a global problem, and is among the main causes of death in the world, and the elderly are part of this new reality as a special group who also suffer submersion accidents. The aim of this study was to analyze deaths due to drowning in the elderly in the state of Paraíba from 2005 to 2015. This is a retrospective, descriptive study associated with spatial analysis of regions with a higher incidence of drowning in people aged 60 years or older in the state of Paraíba. Data were collected from the IML (Gemol and Numol) records from 2005 to 2015, totaling 80 cases of drowning. Sociodemographic characteristics such as age group, gender, spatiality and local description of the occurrence (rivers, dams, sea, waterfall, cacimbas, dams and domestic environments), care provider, file of the Legal Medical Institute of the Scientific Police, international code of diseases – ICD 10 (code W74), shift of occurrence. As results we located the region of Mari sector of the wild region of Paraíba – Açude Olho D’agua (Latitude 7.11º S and Longitude 35.2º ), was the place with the highest number of drownings, where dams/lakes (55%), male (91%), married (46%), aged between 60 and 69 years (60%), the local population made the first care (41%), 14h was of higher occurrence (11%), and on Sundays (29%). We can conclude that drowning occurs in several aquatic scenarios, and in this study occurred in fresh water, several factors were associated with drowning in the elderly, such as cognition deficits, polypharmaceuticals and physical limitations, such outcomes can help encourage protection policies for this group as well as family members guide in freshwater regions and accentuate care.

The Role of the State in Preservation of the Law in the Works of Police Scientists

Introduction. The relevance of this scientific article is due to the fact that the problem of law
 enforcement is directly related to the protection of the rights and freedoms of the individual, the successful
 development of individual social groups and society as a whole. Purpose. The authors set a goal to analyze the
 views of such researchers as R. von Mol, N. Delamar, I.T. Tarasov, I.E. Andreevsky, V.F. Deryuzhinsky,
 N.N. Belyavsky, V.M. Hesse and others on a number of major problems: the tasks of the police in law
 enforcement, the correlation of concepts: “law and order” and “deanery”, measures of police control and
 supervision, issues of combating criminal and political crime. Methodology. In preparing the scientific article, a
 system of methods for studying legal reality was used (general scientific methods: synthesis, analysis,
 deduction, induction, system-structural method; private scientific methods: dogmatic method, historical and
 legal method, comparative legal method, chronological method, retrospective analysis method). Results. In
 the course of the research, it turned out that for police scientists, the idea of the decisive role of the state in
 protecting the rule of law is characteristic. Conclusion. In their writings, police scientists emphasize the idea
 that the role of the state in the protection of the rule of law lies in the multifaceted activities of the police
 authorities, performing the protective function of the state. The concept of law and order during the study
 period was inseparable from the term “deanery” and constituted its legal basis. The goal of the state in the
 representation of power and society XVIII – beg. XX centuries there was an idea of a common good, repeatedly
 proclaimed both in legislative acts and in the writings of police researchers.

Application of luminescent markers to ammunition encoding in forensic routine using a Video Spectral Comparator (VSC)

Gunshot residue (GSR) is an important part of forensic evidence. The implementation of non-toxic ammunition (NTA) hampers GSR characterization by conventional techniques. As an alternative, the incorporation of luminescent markers to ammunition has been proposed. The possibility of aggregation of different markers into gunpowder enables the possibility of ammunition encoding. Thus, the main objective of this study was to differentiate and evaluate for forensic use two previously studied ammunition markers based on europium ion (Eu(BTC) and Eu(BDC)) by employing a Video Spectral Comparator (VSC), well-known and widely used in scientific police laboratories. Chemometric methods demonstrated an unequivocal identification of the LGSR tested samples resulting in a 100% correct classification rating using Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA).

SWISS PROFESSOR RUDOLF REISS – FOUNDER OF THE EUROPEAN FIRST INSTITUTION OF SCIENTIFIC POLICE (criminal science) (to the 155th anniversary of the birth)

SWISS PROFESSOR RUDOLF REISS – FOUNDER OF THE EUROPEAN FIRST INSTITUTION OF SCIENTIFIC POLICE (criminal science) (to the 155th anniversary of the birth)

Российская полицеистика конца XIX – начала XX века об основаниях и пределах применения мер государственного принуждения

The relevance of the topic is due to the scientific and practical importance of issues related to the search for effective means and mechanisms of building a legal state in the Russian Federation. The questions relating to the grounds and limits of the use of state coercion measures, which were the subject of the domestic police-legal theory are considered in article. At the late XIX – early XX century in the Russian police science actively discussed the role of state coercion in the system of public administration, the compatibility of state coercion and the desire to ensure the rights and freedoms of the individual. Understanding of these issues is reflected in the works of N. A. Griftsov, A. E. Nazimov, M. N. Palibin, Y. S. Stepanov, Ya. Felser, which to date in modern historical and legal science have not received a proper assessment. The works of these police scientists became the subject of this research. The aim of the study is to analyze the theoretical and legal heritage of policemen. Methodological basis of the research: General scientific (historical, system, functional) and special (formal-legal, historical-legal, comparative-legal) methods of legal research. The method of interpretation of legal ideas was used. As a result of the analysis of the main provisions of the works of Russian police scientists, it was concluded that state coercion was considered by jurists as an element of domestic activity. Russian police scientists in the face of state seen the guarantor is able to ensure the security of citizens, therefore, recognized the possibility of using the state power of coercion. But at the same time, the police stressed the importance of determining the grounds and limits of the use of measures of state coercion.

DNA identification of skeletal remains by investigator’s intuition

In June 2006 a decapitated woman was found in a parking area of the motorway in the area of Prato (Florence). Since the body was beheaded and no victim’s documents or objects were present at the crime scene, identification at that time was impossible. However, DNA profile from woman’s bones were collected. In the same year (2003), a mother had reported her daughter's disappearance but the two events were not related at that time. About ten years later the mother’s DNA profile was finally acquired for a genetic identification of another girl’s body found in the Ferrara area. These genetic profiles were completely discordant. All these genetic comparisons were carried out on behalf of the prosecutors of the cities involved in the findings of the bodies and in the disappearance complaints, but due to the lack of a database the events remained disconnected. In January 2017, the head of the scientific police of Prato who had followed the investigation and questioned the mother of the missing girl found about ten years later, suggested to the magistrate to order the comparison of the mother's DNA with the genetic profile of the bones found in 2006. This comparison finally allowed the identification of the missing daughter.This story highlights the importance of having forensic DNA database to search for missing persons and how the investigator's intuition can play a key role in resolving criminal cases. In fact, databases of unknown bodies and relatives of missing persons were created in Italy as a part of national DNA database just at the beginning of 2018.

Start-up of the criminal genetic database in Mendoza, Argentina

The usefulness of DNA databases is widely known and demonstrated. After the successful experiences of the UK and the USA the creation of databases increased rapidly around the world. In Latin America the implementation was slower and more problematic, with Chile and Uruguay being the first to implement them. In Argentina the problems were greater and more persistent.Although the lack of legislation or applicable laws is a generalized problem, the most difficult one to overcome was the lack of decision, interest and resources by those responsible at an institutional level.In 2016, Mendoza province modified its database law by creating the “Registro Provincial de Huellas Genéticas Digitalizadas” which allowed the process of construction and consolidation to begin. From January 2017 all prisoners, convicted and imputed of all types of crimes began to be sampled. This made the database to grow rapidly, reaching 13.821 samples in that year.During 2018, in addition to the daily imputed individuals, we began with the sampling from all the Mendoza Police Department, including the Scientific Police that deals with the crime scene. At present the database has a total of 40.652 individuals.In August 2018, the FBI's CODIS system was installed, and later the data loading process began. In 12 months we have reached 87 match or hits of which 46 correspond to sexual assault, 17 to robbery, 16 to homicides and the rest to other cases. Given that within the sexual abuse cases we were able to identify several serial sexual offenders, the 87 hits allowed clarifying 174 criminal cases.These results reaffirm the potential of the databases and gives a light of hope for victims of crime.In this work we present the advances and challenges that we faced in a chronological order.

What have we learned from the dead? A compilation of three years of cooperation between entomologists and crime scene investigators in Southern Brazil

With homicide rates higher than the world average, Brazil stands out as one of the most violent countries worldwide. Time of death estimation based solely on body changes can be biased or inaccurate; forensic entomology can play a determinant role in such cases. Accurate knowledge of necrophilous fauna is essential to validate experimental data and allows for the application of entomological evidence in forensic investigations, which benefits scientists, investigators, and society in general. Entomological evidence from Curitiba and 22 nearby cities were collected by crime scene investigators from the Scientific Police of Paraná. The corpses were found in diverse environments and specimens from each species were collected from all life stages. We present data from 25 cases from 2011 to 2014, including associated species, new records, and comparisons between existing experimental data and data from species collected in the cases presented. We identified 23 total species, of which eight species of Coleoptera and two species of Diptera have not previously been recorded on corpses. In all cases, Calliphoridae (76%) and Silphidae (48%) were the most numerous families collected. Working together with the scientific police gave us insight into which species lacked detailed records and enabled us to collaboratively focus on resolving deficits in our knowledge of necrophagous insects.

Easy preservation protocol for SEM-EDX analysis of skin specimens in forensic context

Summary The use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) is routinely used by scientific police and increasingly described on biological samples in forensic context. However, the pre-analytical conditions of such analyses are not standardised in forensic context and each operator designs its own protocol depending on his practice. Using SEM-EDS on unprepared samples can be destructive but above all encounters technical problems. In the judiciary system, using non-destructive techniques (or less destructive as possible) is attractive to allow reiterate analyses or complementary techniques. So, in this study we try to design a SEM-EDX pre-analytical protocol for hydrated biological samples considering forensic requirement. We tested a protocol with five fragments of the legs of pigs on which a sharp wound was produced. Samples were fixed in 4% formalin for 7 days then dehydrated with absolute ethanol over 48 hours. Samples were dried in ambient air for 24 hours and analysed with SEM-EDS. Anatomo-pathologic examination was performed afterward. Samples were then stored again for 7 days with the same protocol before being examined again. Particle detection was possible without any technical problems on each analysis. This protocol allows reiterated SEM-EDS analyses and anatomo-pathologic examination afterward. This technique is easy to enforce and cheap, and no adaptation of forensic practice is required. Such a protocol is a prerequisite to the spread of EDS analysis use in French forensic practice.

First Impressions: Footprints as Forensic Evidence in Crime in Fact and Fiction

As skilled ‘detectives’, dress historians are experts in closely reading surviving artefacts and using them to glean evidence of the lives of those who made and wore them. With shoes and footwear, this rich, object-based approach can yield new information that challenges established histories. This article turns traditional object analysis on its head by interrogating instead the impressions and traces that objects leave behind, taking a forensic approach to footwear. It examines the rise of scientific policing and the history of footprints as a key form of evidence in crime fact and fiction. Five key British and Francophone stories and novels written between 1833 and 1931 provide a barometer of how narratives of the capital offence of murder and footwear evidence shifted during this century. These are interwoven with contemporary forensic science texts, police handbooks, newspaper articles and trial transcripts from the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey. This article charts the shift in perceptions that occurred between 1830 and 1890, which I call the ‘Age of Conviction’, a period where there was a widespread belief in the veracity of prints, to an ‘Age of Suspicion’ from 1890 to 1930, as more scientific and critical methods of examination and recording made detectives and the public sceptical and wary of deception.