Vucetich Fingerprinting System

Juan Vucetich created one of the most viable fingerprinting methods used for criminal identification to this date. It goes without saying that he made improvements upon the research available at the time and he considered himself “an improver and proselytizer of the system” (Rodriguez, 2004). In order to accurately describe his contribution to fingerprint classification as a means of criminal identification one must look at the history behind the use of fingerprinting.

During the 1800’s there were many advancements taking place all over the world in the field of criminal identification. A Frenchmen Alphonse Bertillon instigated great improvement upon the then generally accepted yet substandard method of photography of criminals by creating anthropometry, or a system of measurements in 1883 that could be used to identify humans. His system termed “Bertillonage” became the first to be accepted as a scientific means of identification. Unfortunately, there were flaws in his system that prompted others to search for a more reliable method that could be manageable and productive to which many found their answer with fingerprinting. In Prussia, Johannes Evangelist Purkinje was the first to publish any findings on fingerprint patterns in 1823 when he wrote a thesis that outlined nine classifiable patterns (Hutchins, 2010). During the 1870’s advancement in fingerprints occurred when the Scottish physician Dr. Henry Faulds began using ink to capture prints from all 10 fingers on cards. Faulds suggested that fingerprints could be used for criminal investigation and created a syllabic system for classification. Perhaps the most recognized name in fingerprinting history is Sir Francis Galton, an English scientist who was influenced by Faulds’ work and continued researching extensively to establish that fingerprints were permanent and unique to each individual. Galton published a book in 1892 entitled Finger Prints that outlined the classification system that he had developed (Hutchins, 2010).

Juan Vucetich held the position of head of the Office of Identification in Argentina. He came to realize that Bertillonage was not proving effective for identification and began researching to find a more suitable method. He discovered Galton’s research and began promoting is validity in Argentina, within one year fingerprinting replaced Bertillonage at the Office of Identification (Hutchins, 2010). Highly influenced by the research he discovered Vucetich considered Galton the “father of fingerprinting” but realized that Galton’s three-part (the arch, the loop and the whorl) classification system was too general and Vucetich set out to create a system that would prove to be more accurate yet manageable (Rodriguez, 2004).

Vucetich created his system based on four general patterns: Arch, Internal Loop, External Loop and Whorl. Each fingerprint was assigned a letter or number to correspond with the general pattern to which it could be classified. He classified the fingers from right-hand thumb to left-hand little finger. The following table represents Vucetich’s pattern assignments as depicted in Figure 5-2 of Laura Hutchin’s Systems of Ridge Classification (Hutchins, 2010):

Pattern	Thumbs	Other Fingers
Arch	A	1
Internal Loop	I	2
External Loop	E	3
Whorl	V	4

The assignment of a value for the general pattern was considered primary identification and he further developed a system of more specific secondary descriptive tags. When creating a label for identification Vucetich split the primary into a numerator/denominator format. With the numerator (or series) demonstrating the values of the right hand and the denominator (or section) demonstrating the values of the left hand. The right hand thumb was termed the fundamental and the remaining fingers on the right hand termed the division. The left thumb was termed the subclassification and the remaining fingers on the left hand termed subdivision (Hutchins, 2010). Essentially, the series was comprised of the fundamental and division which was formatted over the section which depicted the subclassification and subdivision.

The secondary classification that Vucetich developed established five specific descriptions for the general pattern that would be listed as a superscript in parentheses next to the primary identifier. If the primary pattern was considered normal, this superscript would default to the ridge count of the corresponding pattern. The following two tables are reproductions of Tables 5-3 and 5-4 in Laura Hutchin’s Systems of Ridge Classification:

The inclusion of the secondary classification made Vucetich’s system a viable method for classifying, cataloging and retrieving prints for comparison when needed. Vucetich publicized his newly devised system in 1896 in a pamphlet entitled “General Instructions for the ‘Province of Buenos Aires’ System of Identification” (Rodriguez, 2004). Vucetich attributed much of his achievement to Sir Francis Galton’s preliminary research and sent Galton a copy of the 1986 pamphlet. To which Galton replied with the following: “My knowledge of Spanish is unfortunately too limited to enable me to properly read your volume, but I have understood its main features and fully recognize the great pains you must have taken to compose it.” (as quoted in Rodriguez, 2004). 

Vucetich attempted to promote his method as a universal means of fingerprint idenfication and classification. Despite the simplicity of his system, due to a language barrier between Argentina and the rest of the scientific world his system was only implemented in primarily Latin American countries.

Bibliography

Hutchins, L. A. (2010). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Retrieved from Chapter 5: Systems of Friction Ridge Classification: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/225325.pdf

Rodriguez, J. (2004). The American Historical Review. Retrieved from http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/109.2/rodriguez.html