Fingerprint detector

Special particles in security inks that were developed to foil forgers might now help catch all kinds of criminals thanks to the work of University of Technology Sydney (UTS) fingerprint researchers in collaboration with the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Researchers from the Centre for Forensic Science in the UTS Faculty of Science have found that these particles, designed to show up under infrared light, can also be used to reveal fingerprints on ‘difficult’ surfaces, like Australia's polymer banknotes.

Graduating honours student Elicia Bullock and principal supervisor Dr Philip Maynard are the first to assess the potential of so-called anti-Stokes materials in fingerprint detection – results that were recently reported to the International Fingerprint Research Group Conference in Canberra.

Ms Bullock, an international student from Canada, told experts from the USA, Europe and Australia that commercially available anti-Stokes materials could be successfully substituted for traditional reagents in a range of fingerprinting techniques.

Director of the Centre for Forensic Science, Professor Claude Roux, said fingerprint detection using luminescence under ultraviolet, blue or green light was generally very effective but forensic investigators could be frustrated trying to show up fingerprints on surfaces which also luminesce under similar light conditions.