Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal 2005, 7 (3), 63

Review Page 63

Contrast: An Investigator�s Basic Reference Guide to
Fingerprint Identification Concepts

by Craig A. Coppock
Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas (2001) ISBN 0 398 07130 6

(131 pages, £20.91)

Reviewed by Sabrina Henze

Contrast was compiled by the author while teaching fingerprint science to experienced police
officers, new crime-scene investigators and criminal justice students. The book covers several
major topics, including friction skin characteristics, exemplar and latent prints, identification
errors, photography and computerised databases.

This is a valuable basic reference or introductory text. Unfortunately, it is very poorly edited and
suffers from numerous distracting typographical, punctuation and printing errors (averaging at
least one per page). The section on fingerprint identification concepts in Chapter 8 would be
more logically placed near the beginning of the book. Better cross-referencing might have
eliminated the need for some repetition: for example, the illustrations of common friction skin
characteristics in Chapter 2 appear again in Chapter 8.

The author digresses at a few points, and some portions of the text do not belong in an introductory
guide�eg �Friction skin has even been found on the gripping side of the tail of a red howler
monkey� and �In Heisenberg�s indefinable quantum world, our classical laws and logic do not
apply. Of course, fingerprint identification need not go this far�.

Most illustrations are clear, especially the reproductions of ten-print cards, the FBI diagram of
friction skin structure, and the ninhydrin and cyanoacrylate flowcharts. Others are less so, like
the illustration of a fingerprint impression made through a thin latex glove to adhesive tape.
Colour photos would have enriched the chapter on photography, image enhancement and colour.
The useful description of the National Crime Information Center fingerprint classification system
and its drawbacks would perhaps be easier to assimilate in tabular form.

As Contrast is also designed as a reference guidebook, a few additional tools would make it more
user-friendly. A glossary, including terms like �dactylography�/ �dactyloscopy�, �dysplasia�,
�exemplar� versus �latent� prints, �incipient ridges�, �reversals�, �tension� and �flexion� creases,
and �edgeology� and �poroscopy� would be helpful, along with an expanded index.

The most interesting passages are the comparison of inked and computerised prints, the discussion
of reversals and why they are problematic, and the side note about footprint identification (plantar
surfaces are often better protected in fires and aeroplane or car accidents, though this technique
has largely been replaced by DNA identification). A discussion of automated fingerprint
identification systems (AFIS) worldwide and of foreign networking and cooperation would have
added an interesting international perspective.

While those working regularly with fingerprint evidence would probably wish to consult more
in-depth and up-to-date sources on AFIS, digital photography and live-scan technology (though
ideas can be found in the solid bibliography), the book gives a clear outline of the possibilities
and limitations of fingerprint collection, development and classification techniques.

Sabrina Henze
Security Without Borders

Paris, France


	Contrast: An Investigator's Basic Reference Guide to Fingerprint Identification Concepts