Dermatoglyphic patterns of female convicted criminals in Anambra state

The term dermatoglyphics was coined from two Greek words, Derms and Glyphics meaning skin and creases respectively.1 Fingerprints have been a critical tool for personal identification, most especially in detecting personal profile of a suspect in a crime scene, lifting of prints in a crime scene and comparing with the prints of a suspected persons have made dermatoglyphic studies crucial in forensic science.2 The dermatoglyphic patterns are developed during 12th to 13th week of the intrauterine life and from this stage remain unchanged throughout the life.3 This accounts for its unique role in personal identification, specificity in convicting a criminal or a suspect in a crime scene and early detection of defects due to chromosomal abnormalities.4,5 The tendency to commit crime and dermatoglyphics have been reported to be genetically influenced, therefore it will be important to investigate the relationship between crime and dermatoglyphics. Prevalence of radial loops fingerprint patterns was reported by Ascraellli among prostitutes.1 White6 reported significant decrease in mean finger ridge count (TFRC) when compared to noncriminal population in Anglosaxon and Spanish population.7 The dermatoglyphic patterns of Ersher who killed 19 people (17 women), serving a sentence of life imprisonment was examined by Yarovenko8 and study showed whorl patterns in his both right and left digits.