Dactylography

Dactylography is the study of fingerprint patterns and their use in personal identification, typically conducted within forensic science and civil administration. The term derives from Greek daktylos, finger, and graphe, writing, and in modern practice refers to methods of collecting, developing, and comparing fingerprints, including latent prints recovered from surfaces as well as visible prints produced by ink or digital capture.

The use of fingerprints for identification emerged in the late 19th century. English physician Henry Faulds proposed their forensic potential in the 1880s, and British scientist Sir Francis Galton published a systematic treatment in 1892 that established classification and statistical groundwork. Sir Edward Henry later developed the Henry Classification System, which was adopted by police forces in Britain and many other countries.

Fingerprint patterns are categorized into loops, whorls, and arches, with minutiae points such as ridge endings and bifurcations used for precise matching. Print development techniques include dusting powders, cyanoacrylate fuming, ninhydrin, and other methods, as well as digital capture. Modern practice relies on automated systems such as Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) and related biometric databases, which enable large-scale comparison and verification.

Applications include criminal investigations, background checks, security screening, and border control. Factors affecting accuracy include print quality, partial or degraded impressions, age and wear of the skin, and the presence of similar patterns. Privacy and civil liberties concerns are addressed through methodological standards, admissibility criteria, and independent auditing of matches. Dactylography remains a central component of contemporary forensic identification, though it is complemented by other biometric and investigative techniques.