Evolution of Fingerprint Bureau and CFPB
Central Fingerprint Bureau (CFPB):
→ In 1858, Sir William Herschel, the District Magistrate of Hooghly District in Bengal province, proposed the concept that fingerprints could be utilized as a method for personal identification. Subsequently, Dr. Henry Faulds further developed this idea by suggesting the possibility of tracing a criminal through latent prints discovered at the scene of the crime, leading to his conclusion that no two fingerprints are identical. Building on the ideas of Herschel and Faulds, Sir Francis Galton, a distinguished English Scientist, scientifically established the fundamental principles of uniqueness and permanency in fingerprints. It was during this time that Sir Edward Richard Henry, the Inspector General of Police, Lower Bengal, in collaboration with two Indian officers named Khan Bahadur Azizul Haque and Rai Bahadur Hemchandra Bose, devised a system of fingerprint classification, ultimately replacing the anthropometric method of identification. As a result, the world's first-ever fingerprint bureau was established at Writer's Building in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the year 1897.
→ Central fingerprint bureau (CFPB) is the apex body in the country which coordinates, guides, monitors and provides tech supports to the state Fingerprint bureau as well as investigating agencies and international organisations in all matters related to Fingerprint science.
Evolution of Fingerprint Bureau:
→1897: First Fingerprint Bureau in Kolkata
→1907: CFPB was shifted to Shimla
→ 1922: CFPB closed as a result of unavoidable proposal
→ 1955: CFPB re-established under Investigation Bureau (IB) in Delhi
→ 1958: commencement of Fingerprint Examination for Fingerprint Expert
→ 1973: Administrative control of CFPB shifted to CBI.
→ 1992: 1st version of FACTS (Fingerprint Analysis and criminal Tracing system)
→ 1997: Fingerprint in India Publication was mentioned
→ 2007: 5th version of FACTS operationalised
→ 2018: NAFIS under process. (National Automated Fingerprint Identification system)
