The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-387-Vol-3of3.iso/f/fbi92-11.zip/5FOCUS.P18

Text File | 1992-12-04 | 5KB | 142 lines

 November 1992


                       FOCUS ON FORENSICS:
                           LIP PRINTS

                               By

                      Dr. Mary Lee Schnuth
                      Associate Professor
                     Old Dominion University
                        Norfolk, Virginia


     Investigators often gain evidence through the use of
odontology, anthropometry (measuring the body), fingerprints,
and other techniques that determine gender, approximate age,
height, and blood grouping.  Today, however, investigators can
also rely on lip prints to identify possible suspects or to
support evidence gained in specific investigations.

     As with fingerprints, experts can lift lip prints from
objects found at crime scenes and compare these prints to a
suspect's lip pattern.  Lip prints can also support dental
record comparisons in homicide cases where dismemberment makes
identification difficult or when victims do not have teeth or
readily available dental records.

BACKGROUND

     In 1970, Japanese researchers reported their findings on a
lip print study.  During the study, researchers examined the lip
prints of 1,364 individuals, ranging from 3 to 60 years of age.
They prepared the prints by using both photographs and a finger-
print system. (1) They then classified the prints according to
their distinguishing features.

     In 1991, the author conducted a lip print study, comparing
the lip prints of 150 individuals, ranging in age from 4 to 85
years of age.  This study included both genders, as well as five
pairs of identical twins, and applied the same methods of
classification and recording as those in the previous study.

     However, in the second study, researchers transferred lip
prints by using lip rouge rather than a fingerprint system.  In
addition, two findings from the first study were not considered
in the 1991 study: Lip inflamation can alter lip prints, but the
prints return to normal when the condition is relieved; and lip
prints do not change with age. (2)

     Although methods for obtaining prints differed somewhat in
the two studies, the results were the same.  Findings indicated
that:

     .  Every individual has unique lip prints--no two were
        identical in any case

     .  Heredity plays some role in lip pattern development
        (Similarities were found between parents and children.)

     .  Unique features are distinguishable (Although parents
        and their children have similar groove traits, the
        prints are not identical, even in the case of identical
        twins.)

CLASSIFICATION METHOD

     When classifying lip prints, experts divide distinguishing
labial wrinkles and grooves of the lips into two categories--
simple and compound.  Simple wrinkles and grooves are subdivided
into four groups: Those with a straight line, a curved line, an
angled line, or a sine-shaped curve.  Compound wrinkles and
grooves are classified into bifurcated, trifurcated, or
anomalous. (3)

     Six types of distinguishing features exist in lip prints:

     .  Type I--clear-cut lines or grooves that run vertically
        across the lip

     .  Type I/--straight grooves that disappear half-way into
        the lip instead of covering the entire breadth of the
        lip

     .  Type II--grooves that fork

     .  Type III--grooves that intersect

     .  Type IV--grooves that are reticulate (netlike)

     .  Type V--grooves that do not fall into any of the above
        categories and cannot be differentiated morphologically.
        (4)

     Experts cannot categorize a lip print as a single type,
since combinations of groove types exist in nearly all cases.
Instead, they designate a single lip print type based on the
prominance of groove type.

RECORDING METHOD

     Once experts classify lip patterns, they record them by
noting the combinations of groove types found in each print.  A
horizontal line divides the upper lip from the lower lip, and a
median line partitions the right and left sides.  Experts then
record the combinations of groove patterns for each quadrant of
the print. (5)

CONCLUSION

     Findings from lip print studies make a strong case for
their use in solving crimes.  Although not useful for
identification under conditions where only skeletal structures
remain, intact lips provide prints that can provide valuable
legal evidence.

     Many law enforcement agencies remain unaware of the
usefulness of lip prints when attempting to identify suspects,
and as a result, important evidence is lost.  With the
increasing number of unsolved crimes, the criminal justice
community must look seriously at any new method that provides
the evidence necessary to gain convictions.  Law enforcement
personnel should begin to consider lip print analysis as yet
another tool to use for solving crimes.


ENDNOTES

     (1)  K. Suzuki and Y. Tsuchihashi, "Personal Identification
by Means of Lip Prints," Journal of Forensic Medicine, 1970,
52-57.

     (2)  Y. Tsuchihashi, "Studies on Personal Identification by
Means of Lip Prints," Forensic Science, 1974, 233-248.

     (3)  Ibid.

     (4)  Ibid.

     (5)  Ibid.