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Author: Milik Ahmed
Prehistoric and Ancient Use
Prehistoric Era: Ancient Babylonians used fingerprints on clay tablets for business transactions, indicating an early understanding of their uniqueness.
200s BC - 220 AD: During the Qin Dynasty in China, handprints were used as evidence in criminal cases, particularly in burglary investigations.
1318 AD: In Persia, Khajeh Rashiduddin Fazlollah Hamadani mentioned the practice of identifying individuals by their fingerprints in Jaamehol-Tawarikh.
Early Scientific Observations
1684: Dr. Nehemiah Grew published observations on friction ridge skin in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
1788: German anatomist J.C.A. Mayer declared that the arrangement of skin ridges is unique to each individual, marking the beginning of fingerprint uniqueness recognition.
Foundation of Modern Fingerprint Science
1858: Sir William Herschel, District Magistrate of Hooghly District, Bengal, India, first put forward the idea that fingerprints could be used for personal identification. He began using fingerprints on contracts, believing in their uniqueness and permanence.
1870-1880: Dr. Henry Faulds analyzed "skin-furrows" and proposed that latent fingerprints found at crime scenes could be used to trace criminals. He concluded that no two fingerprints are alike.
1892: Sir Francis Galton, building on the ideas of Herschel and Faulds, scientifically established the basic principles of fingerprint uniqueness and permanence. His work, Finger Prints, was crucial in the development of forensic fingerprinting.
1897: Sir Edward Richard Henry, Inspector General of Police, Lower Bengal, with the assistance of two Indian officers, Khan Bahadur Azizul Haque and Rai Bahadur Hemchandra Bose, developed the Henry Classification System of fingerprints. This system replaced the anthropometric system of identification and led to the establishment of the first Finger Print Bureau in the world at Writer's Building, Calcutta (now Kolkata).
Establishment of Fingerprint Bureaus
1901: The Fingerprint Branch at New Scotland Yard was established using the Henry System.
1924: The FBI in the United States established its fingerprinting system for criminal identification.
1955: The Central Finger Print Bureau (CFPB) was established in Calcutta under the administrative control of the Intelligence Bureau. It was later transferred to the CBI in 1973 and finally placed under the National Crime Records Bureau in 1986.
Modern Fingerprinting Technology
1980s-1990s: The Indian version of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), called FACTS, was co-developed by NCRB and CMC Ltd., India. FACTS uses advanced image processing and pattern recognition techniques to capture, encode, store, and match fingerprints, including comparison of chance prints.
2012: INTERPOL's AFIS repository exceeded 150,000 sets of fingerprints, highlighting the global importance of fingerprint databases.
2020: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) operates the world's largest fingerprint system, used for biometric identification across the country.
Key Roles and Functions of the CFPB
Database Maintenance: CFPB maintains a database of fingerprints of criminals, both national and international. This includes records of specified categories of Indian and foreign criminals and those sent by Interpol and the Narcotics Control Bureau.
Training and Examination: CFPB imparts training in fingerprint science to police and non-police personnel from India and other countries. Since 1956, it has conducted the All India Board Examination for accrediting Finger Print Experts.
Publications and Competitions: CFPB publishes Finger Print in India, an annual study of the performance and activities of all Finger Print Bureaux in the country. It also conducts a competition in Finger Print Science at the All India Police Duty Meet since 1958.
Year-wise Table of Key Events
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| Prehistoric | Ancient Babylonians use fingerprints on clay tablets for business transactions. |
| 200s BC - 220 AD | Chinese use handprints as evidence during burglary investigations during the Qin Dynasty. |
| 1318 AD | In Persia, Khajeh Rashiduddin Fazlollah Hamadani mentions the identification of persons by fingerprints in Jaamehol-Tawarikh. |
| 1684 | Dr. Nehemiah Grew publishes observations on friction ridge skin in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. |
| 1788 | J.C.A. Mayer declares the uniqueness of friction ridge patterns in Anatomical Copper-plates with Appropriate Explanations. |
| 1858 | Sir William Herschel uses fingerprints on contracts in India, believing in their uniqueness and permanence. |
| 1870-1880 | Dr. Henry Faulds studies "skin-furrows" and suggests using fingerprints to solve crimes. |
| 1892 | Sir Francis Galton publishes Finger Prints, establishing the individuality and permanence of fingerprints. |
| 1897 | Sir Edward Richard Henry, with Khan Bahadur Azizul Haque and Rai Bahadur Hemchandra Bose, develops the Henry Classification System and establishes the first Finger Print Bureau at Writer's Building, Calcutta. |
| 1901 | The Fingerprint Branch at New Scotland Yard is established using the Henry System. |
| 1924 | FBI establishes its fingerprinting system for criminal identification. |
| 1955 | Central Finger Print Bureau (CFPB) is established in Calcutta under the Intelligence Bureau. |
| 1973 | CFPB is transferred to CBI and later to the National Crime Records Bureau in 1986. |
| 1980s-1990s | Indian version of AFIS, called FACTS, is co-developed by NCRB and CMC Ltd., India. |
| 2012 | INTERPOL's AFIS repository exceeds 150,000 fingerprint sets. |
| 2020 | UIDAI operates the world's largest fingerprint system. |
