It`s a discovery that would make even Sherlock Holmes proud.
Scientists have developed a new crime-fighting technique that allows police to lift fingerprints from bullets even if a criminal has wiped down a shell casing.
Authorities in Britain and the United States used the method to re-open three cold cases, including a US double murder that police are now optimistic of solving, said John Bond, the physicist who developed the technique. `In one case there was enough evidence that could lead to an identification of an offender,` said Bond, a researcher at the University of Leicester and consultant at Northamptonshire Police.
The conventional method of taking fingerprints has been around for more than 100 years and involves creating a chemical reaction with the sweat left behind on an object to produce an image police can use.
But if a criminal wipes away the sweat, there is little left to react with the chemical and regular methods are useless, Bond said.
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Text: Reuters
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