07/10/2023
By Karen Mullins
School of Criminology and Justice Studies is proud to announce a Dissertation Defense by Christopher Donahue on "An Analysis of Mutilated Fingerpring "Impostors" (FMIs)
and the "Imperfect" Criminal History."
Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Time: 9 - 11 a.m.
Location: Via Zoom
Committee:
- Christopher Harris
- April Pattavina
- Ronald Corbitt
- James Silver
Abstract
Positive identification of offenders is a critical element of establishing the “Perfect” Offender Criminal History. There are three elements of the “Perfect” Offender Criminal History: 1) criminal charges, 2) positive identification, and 3) court disposition. The “Imperfect” Offender Criminal History is created when one of the three elements are flawed and transcribed onto the offender’s criminal history as a false positive. This proposal delves into offenders who live under assumed identities (“Impostors”). More specifically, Impostors who mutilate their fingerprints (biometric identity) to avoid identification from the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and detection by law enforcement. Secondly, this proposal outlines the vulnerabilities of the “perfect” criminal history and implications of producing false court records. Lastly, this proposal outlines procedures for AFIS administrators to follow to detect and identify false positive records housed in the AFIS.