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Fingerprinting is treated as the gold standard of personal identification from over a century. However, it is important to understand whether these prints change with age and time. Does it remain the same even if used for identification after many years? <br>
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Is It True that Fingerprints remain unchanged across one’s Lifetime Biometric Identification has grown by leaps and bounds in the recent past. It has successfully emerged as one of the most reliable methods of human identification. Identity proofs like driving license, passport, identity cards etc can get lost. However, the facial features, fingerprints, iris and more always remain with the person; therefore, the ease and convenience in use. What’s more, passwords are often forgotten or hacked. So, the security offered by biometric identification is unbeatable. The next question in this respect is, “Is age just a number in biometric identification?”
Physiological Changes with Age Although physical features for authentication are more reliable than passwords and ID cards, it is evident that these also change with age. Hair color changes with age. Facial features change with decrease in skin elasticity. The irises are affected by diseases like cataract and glaucoma. What’s more, the facial features of children alter drastically as they grow up. Personal identification can therefore, be challenging. Well, besides all these forms of identification are fingerprints. FBI fingerprint, Los Angeles has been the gold standard for personal identification from over a century. It is used by law enforcement agencies in solving innumerable criminal cases. It is also treated as evidence in the court of law. So, do fingerprints which are known to be a unique form of personal identification remain unchanged throughout a person’s lifetime? Do fingerprints change with age? Well, fingerprints also change with time and age, but not enough to affect forensics. It is surprising but true that the skin that re-grows after damages and burns on the fingers has the same fingerprint as they had before. Fingerprint patterns also become less prominent due to old age. Fingerprints of construction workers, brick layers and those who do heavy work like washing dishes etc often become blurred. However, this change is temporary and the worn out pattern tends to grow back in time. So, once the physically tough work stops, the prints become prominent once again. So, although there is a minimal degradation of prints due to these factors, it is almost negligible. In fact, until any of these affects the dermis, they remain the same across years. This is why fingerprinting is the most stable method of biometric identification. So, considering its trustworthiness and longer life span, fingerprinting is treated as the gold standard of personal identification. The FBI and DOJ have a massive database of the fingerprints of all criminals arrested and convicted at the State and Federal level. This database helps law enforcement agencies to find the criminal with their fingerprints. Thanks to the AFIS, matching the fingerprints attained with the ones in the database is simple, quick and easy. What’s more, live scan machines have made fingerprinting simple. What was once done manually with fingers dipped in ink is now done easily at a live scan center. Fingerprints are scanned electronically by the scanner and then transmitted to the FBI or DOJ for scanning with their database. The results not only help law enforcement agencies in identifying the criminal and solving a case, but also help employers and licensing authorities to conduct background check of potential employees and license holders prior to hiring. Well, it is also important to choose the right live scan center that boasts of an experienced team and provides essential services for fingerprinting. Anshin Mobile Notary & LiveScan is one such. For further details, contact them at www.anshinotary.com
