FINGERPRINTS left at the scene of a crime can move after they are deposited, research reveals.
Forensics experts from Abertay University in Dundee, supported by the Home Office, found a thin layer of material from a print can migrate across surfaces away from the original mark.
Over a period of up to two months that material, around four millionths of a millimetre thick, will spread away from deposited fingerprint ridges, depending on the host surface, causing the clarity of the fingerprint to be reduced or even destroying it.
The discovery could help determine how long a print has been at a scene, aiding investigators.
The findings are part of a project from Abertay research assistant Krastio Popov, 35, from Bulgaria, which has been published in Forensic Science International.
Dr Ben Jones, head of the Division of Science at Abertay, said: “Fingerprints deposited on surfaces are a complex mixture of water, fats and salts.
“This research has implications in the development of the mark, particularly relevant to new materials such as polymer banknotes, and potentially helps to gather more intelligence from the forensic exhibits.”
The research also involved Huddersfield and Manchester universities. Tests involved kitchen work surfaces, observing the migration of material through differences in the stiffness of the fingerprint and the surface.
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