Hot tip for all you future would-be burglars out there: Maybe think about avoiding any and all houses that happen to have scientists living in them. Because one might just knock up and develop a game-changing method of getting you caught a hell of a lot faster.
A CSIRO scientist who was the victim of one such break-in has gone ahead and done exactly that – developing a method that takes the ole’ dusting for fingerprints way of crime solvin’ and brings it into the modern age.
The new method involves a liquid containing microscopic crystals which, when applied to fingerprints, bind to the print residue and create an exact microfilm coating of the print, whilst maintaining its structural integrity.
Better still, the crystals have a luminescent effect when placed under UV light, and produce a vibrant colour in as little as 30 seconds from point of application.
Or in other words, them shits glow in the dark, yo.
The genius behind the innovation – CSIRO materials scientist Dr Kang Liang – stated that the new method benefits crime investigation by enabling real-time scanning of prints, cutting down evidence-gathering time significantly.
“While police and forensics experts use a range of different techniques, sometimes in complex cases evidence needs to be sent off to a lab where heat and vacuum treatment is applied. Our method reduces these steps, and because it’s done on the spot, a digital device could be used at the scene to capture images of the glowing prints to run through the database in real time.”
The material has been tested on non-porous surfaces (like windows, wine glasses, metal, and plastic light switches) with great success. The materials are cheap, quick, leave no dust or residue behind, and would drastically improve a standard police procedure that’s been in practice for well over a century.
The CSIRO is currently courting law enforcement agencies to trial the new technique.
Photo: Supplied.
via CSIRO.
