With the cunning of the criminal he covered his tracks, and as a last
resort Chief Henry of Scotland Yard secured the lantern bearing the
tell-tale print and resolved to try the efficiency of the ancient
Chinese method of fixing responsibility by finger tracks.
This astute detective had paid some attention to the fact that no two
hands would leave a similar imprint, and, working upon this theory,
he pursued a still hunt until he found a man whose right thumb made
an imprint identical with that upon the lantern. When found, vigorous
denial followed accusation, but measurements were drawn to such a fine
point that the culprit finally confessed and expiated his heinous
crime upon the gallows.
Recently the perpetrator of an extensive burglary in the jewelry
shop of Mr. Bickley, Lord Mayor of Staffordshire, England, left the
imprint of his fingers upon a plate glass shelf. The shelf was sent
to Scotland Yard and the finger-print record disclosed a duplicate in
the records left by the digits of William Davis, well known to the
authorities. When confronted with the mute evidences of guilt the
culprit confessed.
In a police court at London a few months ago a man appeared who
declined to give any name or address. A detective thought he
recognized him as John White, wanted for a jewel robbery some time
before, though his facial appearance had changed and did not tally
with photographs held by the police. However, the imprint left by his
fingers when in custody before had not changed a particle and his
identity was established.
After the success attained in numerous instances the authorities at
Scotland Yard decided to adopt the system and have now so perfected
it that no malefactor who leaves a finger print can hope to escape
ultimate punishment.
Mr. Wm. A. Pinkerton, of the famous Pinkerton's National Detective
Agency, and without doubt one of the greatest criminal experts, on his
return from Europe, in an interview published recently, says: "During
my visit at New Scotland Yard, London, I was greatly interested
in the high state of efficiency which the finger print system of
identification has reached in the police service of London. The Bureau
of Finger Prints there is one of the most marvelous departments I ever
examined. Identification of criminals has been reduced practically to
a matter of bookkeeping. You get the finger print and then simply turn
up your indexes, and you know your man at once. A criminal may shave
or grow his beard, become stout or thin, alter his appearance to a
considerable extent, but the one constant feature of his makeup is his
finger prints.
"The only safe way for criminals nowadays is to wear gloves when they
go out on a job, for the impressions they leave of the fingers are
found by detectives on glasses, newspapers, dusty tables, and the
slightest impression of the fingers on a damp table or paper can,
by the process in use at the Yard, serve as an adequate means of
identification."