Wand Gives Fingerprint System a Lift : Police: Anaheim detectives say the small, hand-held device enables them to pull 20% more prints from crime scenes.

When two cousins were found shot to death inside a car on Katella Avenue in March, police investigators, with the wave of a wand, were able to quickly lift fingerprints from inside and outside the vehicle and begin their search for a killer.

The small, hand-held wand can’t perform magic, but it is part of an innovative new fingerprinting system that the Anaheim Police Department and a handful of other law enforcement agencies across the nation have been testing since November.

Anaheim Detective James E. Conley said the 3M Fingerprint Visualization System has helped to increase the likelihood of salvaging images from surfaces that in the past have yielded few prints.

Most important, the new system, manufactured by the Austin, Tex.-based 3M Co., is yielding 20% more fingerprints from crime scenes, Conley said. A company representative says the new technique could help police find 50% more prints than current techniques.

“It’s been a great improvement over what we’ve had in the past,” said Conley, the department’s forensics supervisor. “Since fingerprints are one of the most important pieces of evidence that we have, we are in favor of trying anything that makes our lives easier and enables us to find more prints.”

Obtaining fingerprints quickly gives detectives a crucial jump-start on their investigation, said Anaheim Sgt. Steve Rodig, head of the department’s robbery/homicide division.

“We need to identify a victim as soon as possible in an investigation and obtain any possible information on a suspect,” Rodig said. “It’s very advantageous for us to be able to expedite getting prints.”

An investigator uses the wand to disperse cyanoacrylate vapor (more commonly known as Super Glue) over the surfaces to be examined for prints. The vapor, which reacts with the moisture and oil of the fingerprints, makes the print visible and freezes it on the spot so it cannot be smudged.

The print can be lifted from the surface in about 30 minutes, instead of the usual four or five hours it takes for the more commonly used dust to yield a usable print.

The speed of the process also virtually eliminates any danger of the prints evaporating on a hot day, Conley said.

“It’s like taking the lab out to the crime scene,” said David Kemp, a 3M projects manager. “It’s not unusual for investigators to completely remove a door to take it to the lab for processing. That is not only laborious, but it can also disturb the latent fingerprints. The beauty of this system is that it locks the fingerprints in and you can do your work out in the field.”

Whether it’s the scene of an arson, homicide, bank robbery or burglary, Conley said the system, which is contained in a small, portable case, has been particularly helpful in lifting fingerprints from more challenging surfaces such as leather, duct tape, Formica and plastic.

In addition, prints can be repeatedly lifted from a surface once they are “frozen.” With fingerprint dust, if a print is not lifted properly the first time, it can be lost forever.

Although cyanoacrylate has been used to detect fingerprints for more than 20 years, the new system enables police to use it in a safer, more convenient way. The fumes from the chemical can be toxic if not applied properly, Conley said.

Kemp said the new method can locate as many as 50% more fingerprints, because more surfaces can be checked for prints.

Anaheim has not completely abandoned the old process of dusting for prints. Conley said the decision to use the new system is made on a case-by-case basis and in some situations, it is simply not needed.

Anaheim was one of five cities--the others are San Antonio, Tucson, Houston and Springfield, Mass.--chosen to test the product because some of their personnel already had the technical background needed to use the system, Kemp said. The department is using the technology free of charge indefinitely, he said.

The technology was developed by forensics specialist David Weaver, who was a latent fingerprint examiner and forensic artist for the state of Alaska from 1986 to 1993.

The electronics products division of 3M put the product on the market for law enforcement agencies in April. It is currently being used in 12 police departments across the United States.

“The feedback we’ve received has ranged from people saying, ‘This is another great tool to help us out,’ to ‘This is the greatest technology we’ve seen developed in the last 30 years,’ ” Kemp said.