The Reliability of Expert Testimony Based on Fingerprint Evidence基于指纹证据专家证言的可靠性.docVIP

Error Rates for Human Latent Fingerprint Examiners Lyn Haber and Ralph Norman Haber Human Factors Consultants and Department of Psychology The University of California at Santa Cruz Abstract Fingerprint comparison evidence has been used in criminal courts for almost 100 years to identify defendants as perpetrators of crimes. Until very recently, this evidence has been accepted by the courts as infallibly accurate. We review four kinds of available data about the accuracy of fingerprint comparisons made by human latent fingerprint examiners: anecdotal FBI data; published data on the accuracy of consensus fingerprint comparisons made by groups of examiners working in crime laboratories; the proficiency and certification test scores of latent fingerprint examiners tested individually; and the results of controlled experiments on the accuracy of fingerprint comparisons. We conclude that anecdotal data are useless and misleading; consensus judgments of fingerprint comparisons show either indeterminant or quite large error rates; the proficiency and certification procedures in current use lack validity, and cannot serve to specify the accuracy or skill level of individual fingerprint examiners; and there is no published research evidence on error rates. It is impossible to determine from existing data whether true error rates are miniscule or substantial. Published in Ratha, N.K. (Ed.), (2004). Advances in Automatic Fingerprint Recognition (Ch. 17, pp. 337-358). New York: Springer-Verlag. Address for correspondence: Dr. Lyn Haber, 730 Rimrock Drive, Swall Meadows, CA 93514. Email to haberhfc@. Telephone: 760-387-2458. 1. Introduction A fingerprint expert on television who asserts that the prints on the murder weapon match those of the villain is believed, and the bad guy is convicted. This is equally true in a real life courtroom. For almost 100 years, fingerprint evidence has been accepted as fact in court in the United States and other countries.