In my eyes fingerprinting is an underestimated field of study. Six years of studying fingerprints along with exams throughout the job experience is what it takes to analyze fingerprints as a profession. Everyone obtains their own set of unique fingerprints, making it a very
distinguishable trait to identify in a crime. For example, the Night Stalker crimes took place in California. Richard Ramirez left a single fingerprint on the tail light of his stolen vehicle. The one salvageable fingerprint was used to identify the Night Stalker and give the victims families closure. Fingerprints are not always easy to identify. A perfect fingerprint at a crime scene would not have any smudges which rarely happens, your fingers have oils on them which transfer your fingerprint onto an object. The more oil on your fingers the easier it is to dust for fingerprints however, if the piece of evidence is wet or your fingers have less oil it is more difficult to dust for. Crime scene investigators do not know where or even if there are fingerprints located at the scene of the crime, making it very difficult to find fingerprints. I think you have to understand what was going through the criminals mind during the time of the crime to understand what they might have done. Some criminals are smart and precise with a planned murder, making it difficult to locate evidence such as fingerprints. Others are sloppy and make it much simpler to locate fingerprints. Evidence collection is crucial to find the guilty and give closure to the families who deserve it. Evidence must be untampered with and kept in the right conditions in order to collect the correct evidence.