Friction ridge impressions: activity level propositions

Fingermarks have proven to play an important role in criminal investigations for identification purposes. However, in some cases, the donor of the fingermark is not disputed but the activity that led to the deposition of the fingermark is. In this article, the state-of-the-art knowledge on evaluating fingermarks at activity level is discussed. First, the relevant variables that should be taken into account when evaluating fingermarks given activity level propositions are reviewed, followed by showing how such an evaluation could be performed using a Bayesian network. Finally, the main concerns and relevant discussions related to this topic are discussed.