Quantifying the Dermatoglyphic Growth Patterns in Children through Adolescence

To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally-funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Institute of Justice (NIJ). The views and conclusions contained in this document/presentation are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as presenting the official policies or position, either expressed or implied, of NIJ or the U.S. Government unless so designated by other authorized documents. Citation of manufacturer's or trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use thereof. NIJ is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Government purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation herein. ABSTRACT Ultra-Scan Corporation was awarded a five year grant through the Office of Justice Programs in response to a proposal titled Quantifying the Dermatoglyphic Growth Patterns in Children through Adolescence. The project's objective was to research friction ridge patterns during a rapid period of growth (such as that found in children through adolescence) to determine whether a commonality of growth exists and to develop a statistically valid mathematical model for predicting this change. The project's goal was to provide the NIJ and scientific community a means for predicting the shape changes of fingerprints during this period of growth in order to significantly enhance the probability of matching an individual's adolescent/adult fingerprints to fingerprints acquired when the individual was a child. The project's goal necessitated the capture of children's fingerprints at specific intervals. Prior to any interaction with collection subjects, a thorough Independent Review Board (IRB) application and review process was completed, as was a full design research protocol. Subject recruitment proved to be a daunting task throughout the study. The limited availability and cooperation of subjects (children), guardians (school administrators, Scout leaders), and parents (consent) was an unexpected and constant hurdle during the recruitment process. After exploring several populations of potential collection subjects including local schools students, regional Boy Scout groups proved to be willing and available subjects for the study. Initial subject fingerprints were collected during the first one and a half years and recollected for study during a subsequent three year period. The collected data was thoroughly examined, categorized and analyzed in an effort to explain the observed phenomenon: growth patterns of fingerprints as measured in this study do not appear to follow …