This forty-hour course will provide the attendee with an in-depth look at the ACE-V process, paying particular attention to the analysis process including the analysis of distortion. This course is advanced in nature, however, may be suitable for beginner and novice practitioners as well.
This advanced course is designed to introduce the attendee to the scientific method currently followed in the Latent Print community, ACE-V (Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification.) The intricacies of the Analysis stage will be broken down and particular attention to the levels of detail, ridge flow, pattern type, ridge counts, minutiae, and minutiae formations, ridgeoscopy and poroscopy will be covered. Types of impressions commonly found at crime scenes will be discussed as will the meanings of the terms “of value” and “no value.” Discussions will also include the numerical system vs a holistic approach, as well as other topics currently being discussed in the field. One day will be primarily focused on distortion and the how, what, why and when, behind an impression appearing as it does. Students will create their own distortions as a class, take a set of legible prints, discuss the type of distortion between rolled and flat impressions, and take part in analysis exercises along the way. As the week progresses, class focus will move to the Comparison, Evaluation and Verification stages of the ACE-V process discussing information ranging from: comparing smart clues, the “GYRO” method, types of conclusions that can be reached, importance of verification, error rate studies, criticism of the field through reports such as the National Academy of Sciences, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Significant court cases dealing with friction ridge science will also be discussed.
This course contains a significant amount of hands-on activities with plenty of exercises to get the attendees involved and help to better understand the “why” behind the ACE-V process. The course will culminate with a comparison exam where the searching aspect will be put to the test. After the exam is completed, the exam will then be passed to another student in attendance and be verified; showing the importance of verification as it applies to the process we use in active casework.
PLEASE NOTE: Students should bring their fingerprint magnifier and ridge counters to this course.
