Hi-tech images let police put finger on criminals

From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Thursday 21st Feb 2002.

A FINGERPRINT system, pioneered by Wiltshire Constabulary scientist Esther Neate, is being snapped up by other police forces.

Representatives of the Uzbekistan police force visited Wiltshire police headquarters in Devizes earlier this month to find out about the system.

Mrs Neate, a former professional photographer, developed the first digital photography fingerprint system in Britain.

She said the system works by enhancing the image of a fingerprint.

Previously many fingerprints had to be ditched as, on certain surfaces such as a bank note or carrier bag, the background pattern got in the way.

The new system reduces the effect of the background pattern to show the fingerprint more clearly.

Now Mrs Neate, who lives in Corsham, said the system has increased detection rates in Wiltshire by 40 per cent.

Mrs Neate, who has worked for the Wiltshire force for ten years, began developing the new system in 1995 and two years later the force was actively using it in prosecutions.

The system, which is manufactured by the firm Masonvactron, went on the commercial market 18 months ago and there are now at least 25 police forces using the technology.

Interest in the system has also been shown by the police in Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand.

Mrs Neate said the new system is beneficial to everybody.

"When we took photographs in black and white there was a three-week turn around in producing the impressions but now with the digital technology that has been reduced to minutes," she said

"I developed the new system because we had a big backlog of work and quite a few serious cases.

"I was aware there was technology out there that would convict an offender but the technology I had at the time did not do that.

"It is quite nice to see some reward for all your hard work.

"The system has produced a better service to the public because work can be turned round a lot quicker and because it has improved detection rates."

Mrs Neate said there a`re in-built security mechanisms to ensure evidence could not be contaminated.

Mrs Neate has travelled the world explaining how the system works to other police forces and later this year will be speaking at the biggest forensic conference in Las Vegas.

jcrooks@newswilts.co.uk

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