|
|
|
Enhancement (An original article by a SCAFO board member who is willing to sacrifice his time not only in the operation of the association, but also by sharing his knowledge, experience and insight.)
By THOMAS W. JONES, CLPE, SCSA, FFS The word, or rather the way it is being abused, is a source of apprehension for testifying Latent Print Examiners. This is due, primarily, to the perception that it is a tool of the Defense, used to discredit the evidence. To avoid this apprehension you must remind yourself that Attorneys make their living with words. Semantics, rather than Government Codes or Truth, determine the outcome of Jury deliberation. Knowing this, you can prevent misunderstanding by increasing your word power, especially those words pertaining to the subject of the testimony. It also helps to know that, as an expert witness (as opposed to a fact witness), if you believe a simple yes or no could be misleading or might be misconstrued, you are allowed to explain the answer. And don't make the mistake of starting your answer with yes or no and intending, then, to explain. The Defense Attorney, knowing what you are about to do, will object, and in some Courts that will end your explanation. The definition of enhance is to make greater. heighten; intensify. Long before computers became involved, crime scene investigators realized that latent prints had more value if you could see them, and set about the business of enhancement. Over the years we have traveled from soot to a large variety of chemicals, powders, fumes and lighting techniques to illuminate those unseen or unnoticed finger marks. The defense would like to have the jurors think that enhance means modify or alter. Q. Did you do anything to enhance the latent print? A. I used my flashlight to locate what appeared to be a foreign substance on the surface and to determine if that substance had indications of having been touched. Then I applied a black powder to the substance to bring up the image. When I was satisfied that I had the best image I was going to get, I lifted the latent with a special tape and placed it on a white card designed for the purpose of maintaining latent prints, and with spaces for documentation to further enhance the value of this otherwise valueless latent print. And even though the white card enhanced the contrast of the black latent print I continued the process of visualization by photographing the latent with high contrast film. Before beginning the business of comparison I used my computer to make the white whiter and the black blacker to reduce the number of shades of gray to a number that the human eye can handle. If your question deals with altering the print by adding something which was not already there, the answer is NO. This answer, or a variation depending upon the nature of the item processed, addresses the literal question. Quite often an expert witness will answer what he/she perceives to be the thrust of the question, and will thereby, appear to be on the defensive. This answer is responsive, it is not redundant, and you are not volunteering information which could lead you down a long winded cross examination. It closes the door to manipulation by the defense attorney, who would like to give the jury the impression, if not the understanding, that you altered the latent print so that it looked like the print of the innocent defendant. Whether photographically with filters, or computerized histogram, the objective is the same; illumination to optimize the available image for the purpose of comparison. The word enhancement has been used by salesmen to mean adding something to sweeten the deal and thereby cause you to agree. If only we had chosen the word ILLUMINATE instead! (Editor--Thanks Tom, for taking the time to share--—both this article and the Helpful Hint below. In answer to a question from Tom--—"Is this the sort of thing you are looking for?" YES)
This article was originally published in “THE PRINT” |