Âé¶¹´«Ã½

An identity crisis?

By Adrian Cho

16 June 2001

It’s an open-and-shut case. The fingerprints found at the scene of a crime match those of the man the police have just arrested. So he’s guilty, yes? Not so fast . . . No one has ever proved that every finger possesses a unique pattern of ridges and grooves, or that a single smudgy print can be matched to just one person, says historian of science Simon Cole. In his new book, he argues that contrary to public opinion, there’s scarcely any science to back it up. Indeed, what little evidence thereis suggests that fingerprint examiners may match prints…

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