Lancer Spotlight 9/20/21: LHS dives deep into the science of fingerprints

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Leila Gibril

Claire Thomas and Daniela Geradi demonstrate how they extract a fingerprint.

by Leila Gibril, Editor

Have you ever heard of the show Criminal Minds or perhaps Forensic Files? Ever wondered how they learn their impressive skills?

The popular true crime class, Forensics, taught by Jessica Baker, gives students an insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a forensics lab.

The students taking this class are becoming scientists.

“I first saw it on Criminal Minds. I wanted to learn how at the crime scene, investigators can gather data of how the crime went down,” senior Daniela Gerardi said.

Geradi and senior Claire Thomas worked together on the pallet with would appear to have black dust that could capture a fingerprint . Thomas would then have her dust covered finger printed onto the paper.

While great in theory, there are few downsides to gathering information and being able to break it down, “its not as well trusted,” said Baker.

Fingerprinting is not as popular as it used to be but it is still a key subject to learn while taking the class. If you would like to lean more about how to correctly fingerprint on your own, here is a link to show you a quick and easy way.