Forensic experts from the Kagawa Prefectural Police have developed a new method of obtaining fingerprints from human skin that they believe will be useful in identifying criminals in assault cases.
Although still in the experimental phase, the technology would be effective in narrowing down the suspects in cases such as those involving sexual assault or the abandonment of corpses, according to experts at the police force's Identification Section and the Research Institute of Scientific Criminal Investigation.
Fingerprints are usually obtained by using a brush to sprinkle a fine aluminum powder onto a surface. The powder sticks to the oil left behind from finger secretions, and the shape of the prints appears.