Latent Print Processing Flashcards

Which technique uses a vacuum chamber to deposit metal vapor onto a surface to develop latent prints?

Answer: Vacuum metal deposition (VMD)

Vacuum metal deposition deposits gold and zinc onto surfaces in a vacuum, making it highly sensitive for prints on plastics and polymers.

What is the primary advantage of using alternate light sources (ALS) before applying chemical developers?

Answer: ALS can reveal prints without consuming or contaminating them

ALS is non-destructive, allowing prints to be detected and photographed before any chemical is applied that might alter them.

When processing a wet porous surface such as a rain-soaked document, which reagent is most appropriate?

Answer: Physical Developer (PD)

Physical Developer works in an aqueous silver-based reaction and is effective on wet porous items because it reacts with inorganic components that resist washing.

Which of the following fluorescent dyes is commonly used after cyanoacrylate fuming to enhance contrast on multi-colored surfaces?

Answer: Rhodamine 6G

Rhodamine 6G is a fluorescent dye that bonds to the polymerized cyanoacrylate, enabling visualization under laser or ALS illumination.

Iodine fuming develops latent prints through which mechanism?

Answer: Physically absorbing into fatty residues

Iodine vapors are physically absorbed into the fatty (sebaceous) components of the print deposit, creating a temporary yellow-brown image.

A CSI finds a latent print on a knife blade. Which processing sequence is correct?

Answer: Photography → cyanoacrylate → fluorescent dye

Photography documents the scene first, then cyanoacrylate polymerizes on non-porous metal, and fluorescent dye enhances the developed print.

What does the term 'Level 3 detail' refer to in fingerprint examination?

Answer: Pore structure and edge morphology of individual ridges

Level 3 detail includes micro-features such as sweat pore positions and the precise shape of ridge edges, requiring high magnification.