Finger on solving crime
Local fingerprint examiners among elite in their field
BY JASON KOTOWSKI
Bakersfield Californian
February 24, 2007
A homicide has occurred, the killer is on the loose and there's no
visible evidence at the crime scene linking anyone to the slaying.
An unsolvable crime?
Not with the training and updated methods used by latent fingerprint examiners, who are able to find and pull fingerprints from surfaces as varied as a light bulb to a golf ball.
There are 780 latent fingerprint examiners worldwide certified by the International Association for Identification. Three work for the Bakersfield Police Department.
In the department's investigation division, Catherine G. Kibbey, Sherrie Hill and Rebecca L. Stokes have undergone the grueling certification process.
Testing takes eight hours and is given in three stages: pattern interpretation of various fingerprints; questions on the history of fingerprints, pattern interpretation and latent prints; and comparison of 15 latent prints with inked prints -- 12 of the latent prints must be identified with 100 percent accuracy.
Kibbey, the department's crime scene unit supervisor, stressed that while she considers certification a special achievement, it's not necessary to be a qualified latent fingerprint examiner.
Still, the three are in elite company by passing the test, and the training they've undergone prepared them for the thousands of crimes they've assisted in solving in the city.
"It's like a puzzle," Stokes said of matching fingerprints left at a crime scene to a suspect. "In some cases there are 20 different fingerprints at a crime scene, in other cases one."
Stokes and Hill said a huge catch for them was finding a suspect's fingerprints on duct tape used to bind a Bakersfield businessman who had been strangled to death. The suspect, Keith Bryan Shell, was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping for ransom and conspiracy for his role in the Aug. 7, 2000, death of Bradley St. Clair.
St. Clair was killed in his Wible Road office after a scheme to kidnap him for ransom failed. Stokes said they were able to retrieve several prints from the duct tape used on St. Clair.
Shell was sentenced to life in prison.
In another investigation, Kibbey was able to retrieve a print from a window screen and, within an hour, identify a suspect in a sexual assault and robbery.
"It makes us feel really good to clear something like that," Kibbey said.
After retrieving prints, the examiners enter them into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System if a detective can't immediately name any suspects. The system provides them with a number of possible matches, and the examiners try to match up the print with the 10 closest matches.
If one of the examiners makes a positive identification, the match is verified by another examiner and then the information is passed along to the detectives working the case.
In addition to analyzing prints, the examiners take photographs and video at a scene and interpret blood spatter. The latter technique involves analyzing where blood is spread at a crime scene to determine factors such as what weapon was used and at what angle a victim was hit.
Bakersfield police Detective Greg Terry said the department's fingerprint examiners serve a vital role in solving crimes.
"Their role of collecting, preserving and processing evidence is critical to the successful conclusion of an investigation," Terry said. "Many times it's their work that directly allows us to identify the suspect or make an arrest and ultimately hold someone responsible for that particular crime."
With the popular crime show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and its offshoots, people have shown a lot more interest in their work, Kibbey said. The science on "CSI" is pretty accurate, she said, but solving a case often takes weeks, not a couple of hours.
And while the technology for finding fingerprints has improved, the sophistication of the average criminal is about the same as it ever was. Because of that, Kibbey, Stokes and Hill are in no danger of being out of work.
"Job security is good," Hill said.