Recent Book: “DABS”: Scott's Fingerprint Mechanics
| Author | Daniel P. King |
| Published date | 01 October 1979 |
| Date | 01 October 1979 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X7905200414 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
to observe the law. The news media
highlighted the difficulties and a number
of national commissions sought a
solution to the problem.
The panacea was that of providing
higher education for police officers on
the grounds that acollege-educated
police officer would be a better police
officer than one with less qualifications.
In the popular American style. which
frequently believes that all problems
have a solution and that money is an
integral part of the solution. a pro-
gramme providing 40 million dollars a
year for police education was produced!
The number of courses for police officers
expanded at an enormous rate (from 125
in 1965 to 1245 in 1976) with the
percentage of police officers with at least
some college education increasing from
20% (1960) to 32% (1970) and more
recently 46% (1975).
This expansion according to the
authors of the report has led to trouble.
Rapid expansion has now come to a halt.
the future of funds is uncertain. internal
strife has torn police education and
criticism abounds. Significantly. "the
central thrust of this criticism is that
police education is generally low in
quality."
Concern over the condition of police
education stimulated the Police
Foundation
to assemble the "National
Advisory Committee on Higher
Education for Police Officers' to
examine the question:
"How
can the
quality of police education be improved
to make it a more effective force for
changing the police?"
Amajor conclusion of the report.
which embodies 43 recommendations for
changing police education. directly
relevant to this country is:
"Our
review
of the scant empirical evidence
about
the
premise (that more and better higher
education would improve police officers)
is inconclusive. but it did suggest that the
recent dramatic increase in the
educational levels of police personnel
had little impact on police performance."
Evidently, education alone isinsufficient
to change the police.
Although some US educationalists
have attacked the report accusing the
Police Foundation of "power play" and
as "behind the times" it provides an
interesting insight into police education
and the chapters on Higher Education
and Police Reform and Changing the
Police are particularly valuable.
In addition the Report should stimu-
late further thoughts about the whole
area of higher education for police
officers in the United Kingdom. For
example. would the police service inthis
country be much better served by the
closure of Bramshill and the Scottish
Police College and placing education in
the Polytechnics and Universities? Other
professions have accepted that the
establishment and maintenance of
standards can be best achieved in these
establishments. Why not the police? At
grass roots level. too. the question of the
present promotion examinations with
their abysmal pass rates
appear
to be in
need of further examination.
KEN
RUSSELL
"DABS"
Scott's Fingerprint Mechanics:
ROBERT
D.
OI.SE~.
Sr.
Charles C. Thomas. Publisher. Springfield.
III.
1978. 460pp. $24.75.
Scott's Fingerprint Mechanics was
originally published in
1951
and has since
become a classic in its field. It has now
been brought thoroughly up to date due
to the considerable changes over the past
twenty-six years in techniques and
equipment. However, its basic approach
- to provide apractical introduction to
fingerprint identification - has been
maintained.
If one were to own one book on the
science of fingerprints, this would easily
be my choice. Every conceivable aspect
of
fingerprint identification as a tool of
criminal investigation is discussed.
Individual chapters are devoted to
Taking
Finger, Palm,
and
Footprints,
Latent Fingerprint and Crime Scene
Procedures, .
Fingerprint.
Equipment.
Latent Fingerprint Powder Techniques,
Latent
Fingerprint
Physical Tendencies,
406
Latent Fingerprint Chemical Tech-
niques. Latent Fingerprint Electronic
Techniques, Latent Fingerprint Lifting
Techniques and a selection of illustrative
fingerprint cases.
The writing style is brisk and straight-
forward; the numerous photographs and
line drawings are clear, instructive and
technically correct. The bibliography
(following each
chapter
and at theend) is
especially thorough. Of value to the
experienced technician, this is an excel-
lent text for the beginner with a series of
study and review concluding each
chapter. All of the recent developments
in the field - x-ray and lasertechniques,
scanning electron microscope tech-
niques, metal evaporation methods.
image enchancernent, and computer
identification
oflatent
fingerprints - are
explored.
DANIEL
P. KING
October 1979
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