ACE V Meaningful note taking during its linear application
Errors in fingerprint identifications and current scientific research have led to recommendations being made that Fingerprint Examiners make more detailed notes and that the analysis phase of ACE V should be documented more thoroughly. This paper identifies that currently note taking at the analysis stage is greatly lacking and Fingerprint Examiners should adopt a more rigorous, detailed and structured approach. Specifically, Fingerprint Examiners should annotate an image of the mark with the position of the ridge characteristics before they compare it against any fingerprint reference forms. This would provide a contemporaneous record of the Fingerprint Examiner's unbiased opinion of the mark before that opinion is subject to any influence by the clearer fingerprints on a person's reference form. This would allow evaluation results to be reported more objectively and with the correct evidential strength.