Missoula crime lab adds fingerprint tool to speed evidence work

Missoula, Mont. — A new machine at the Montana State Crime Lab could give analysts a better look at fingerprint evidence and help them work through some evidence more efficiently.

NonStop Local's Ethan Jamba toured the lab as staff got ready to use the system in the latent print unit. The tool was designed to capture latent prints under a full spectrum of light and help analysts compare those images with known subjects or search them in a database.

“This is our DC S6 and it is a comprehensive photography and visualization system so we can photograph latent prints under a full spectrum of light. And then further process those images to be compared against known subjects or to be searched in database,” said Kate Delphy, forensic manager.

Delphy explained that some fingerprints do not appear under normal white light but can become visible under other wavelengths, including infrared or ultraviolet. She said the system also helped with curved objects such as screwdrivers or firearm cartridges by turning a print wrapped around a cylindrical surface into a two-dimensional image analysts could review or search.

She said the state already had photography tools for this work, but some of that equipment was aging. After other labs and agencies tested and vetted the newer technology, the state brought it to Montana.

Before it could be used in active casework, the lab still needed to verify its processes with test samples and get quality-control signoff.

“Every piece of evidence that comes in through the lab is tied to a criminal case that has a victim involved. And so what our goal is, is to provide as many answers as we can in an efficient and timely manner to help provide answers and hopefully a resolution at some point,” Delphy said.

Delphy said that verification could take about one to two months before the machine was ready for casework.