TY - JOUR
T1 - Fingerprint error rate on close non-matches
AU - Koehler, Jonathan J.
AU - Liu, Shiquan
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding provided by the China University of Political Science and Law, and the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Faculty Research Program. We thank Professor Emeritus Bill Thompson (UC Irvine) for astute comments on an earlier draft.
Funding Information:
Funding provided by the China University of Political Science and Law, and the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Faculty Research Program.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Academy of Forensic Sciences
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - The accuracy of fingerprint identifications is critically important to the administration of criminal justice. Accuracy is challenging when two prints from different sources have many common features and few dissimilar features. Such print pairs, known as close non-matches (CNMs), are increasingly likely to arise as ever-growing databases are searched with greater frequency. In this study, 125 fingerprint agencies completed a mandatory proficiency test that included two pairs of CNMs. The false-positive error rates on the two CNMs were 15.9% (17 out of 107, 95% C.I.: 9.5%, 24.2%) and 28.1% (27 out of 96, 95% C.I.: 19.4%, 38.2%), respectively. These CNM error rates are (a) inconsistent with the popular notion that fingerprint evidence is nearly infallible, and (b) larger than error rates reported in leading fingerprint studies. We conclude that, when the risk of CNMs is high, the probative value of a reported fingerprint identification may be severely diminished due to an elevated false-positive error risk. We call for additional CNM research, including a replication and expansion of the present study using a representative selection of CNMs from database searches.
AB - The accuracy of fingerprint identifications is critically important to the administration of criminal justice. Accuracy is challenging when two prints from different sources have many common features and few dissimilar features. Such print pairs, known as close non-matches (CNMs), are increasingly likely to arise as ever-growing databases are searched with greater frequency. In this study, 125 fingerprint agencies completed a mandatory proficiency test that included two pairs of CNMs. The false-positive error rates on the two CNMs were 15.9% (17 out of 107, 95% C.I.: 9.5%, 24.2%) and 28.1% (27 out of 96, 95% C.I.: 19.4%, 38.2%), respectively. These CNM error rates are (a) inconsistent with the popular notion that fingerprint evidence is nearly infallible, and (b) larger than error rates reported in leading fingerprint studies. We conclude that, when the risk of CNMs is high, the probative value of a reported fingerprint identification may be severely diminished due to an elevated false-positive error risk. We call for additional CNM research, including a replication and expansion of the present study using a representative selection of CNMs from database searches.
KW - close non-match
KW - error rate
KW - false-positive
KW - fingerprint
KW - fingerprint accuracy
KW - fingerprint identification
KW - proficiency test
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U2 - 10.1111/1556-4029.14580
DO - 10.1111/1556-4029.14580
M3 - Article
C2 - 32990979
AN - SCOPUS:85091687594
VL - 66
SP - 129
EP - 134
JO - Journal of Forensic Sciences
JF - Journal of Forensic Sciences
SN - 0022-1198
IS - 1
ER -
