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New method will strengthen fingerprints as the burden of proof

Kim Frisch from Aarhus University receives almost DKK three million from The Council of the Danish Victims Fund for a research project that will make it easier to reconstruct fingerprints using a new chemical method of measurement.

2021.12.16 | Lene Halgaard

Kim Frisch will develop new and more sensitive methods to make fingerprints visible based on their chemical compounds.

Fingerprints are a conclusive and strong piece of evidence in criminal forensic investigations. But there are occasions where it may be difficult to match the fingerprint because of a weak imprint or overlaps with other imprints. PhD Kim Frisch and his colleagues from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University will strengthen the use of fingerprints as evidence and have received more than DKK three million from The Council of the Danish Victims Fund for a new project.

In the project "Better utilisation of fingerprints as evidence – ID of perpetrators using mass spectrometry", Kim Frisch will measure the chemical composition of a fingerprint point by point. The hypothesis is that using this method will make restoring the pattern in even weak fingerprints easier.

Kim Frisch and the team behind the project believe that with the new method, the police will be able to restore more fingerprints and increase the burden of proof for suspects, and thus also improve the victim's legal status in more serious cases such as homicide, attempted murder and rape.

Contact
Chemist, PhD Kim Frisch
Aarhus University, Department of Forensic Medicine
Tel.: (+45) 8716 7500
Email: frisch@clin.au.dk

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