Study of the Influence of External Conditions and Materials on the Preservation of Hidden Prints under Water

Aelita Zile1, Karina Palkova2 & Andrejs Vilks3

Abstract
Concealment of a crime involves a number of processes that the guilty
person performs to destroy their own fingerprints, including immersing or
flooding the objects of illegal acts. That is why the expression of the influence of
the water environment, its features and external conditions on the preservation of
evidence of a crime is an urgent issue. The purpose of the article was to study
temperature, time, chemical features of water resources and other factors for the
possibility of qualitative detection and research of human fingerprints on various
types of materials. In the work, the author independently conducted an experiment
that formed its methodological basis. As a result of the conducted research, it was
established that the examination of evidence, including fingerprints under water,
was an important component of the investigation of the crime.
Keywords: identification; latent fingerprints, water; glass; plastic.