Suspect Identities

A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification

Simon A. Cole

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English

Harvard Uni.Press Academi
30 October 2002

Biography; Police & security services; Criminal investigation & detection; Jurisprudence & general issues; Genetics (non-medical)

"""No two fingerprints are alike,"" or so it goes. For nearly a hundred years fingerprints have represented definitive proof of individual identity in our society. We trust them to tell us who committed a crime, whether a criminal record exists, and how to resolve questions of disputed identity.

But in Suspect Identities, Simon Cole reveals that the history of criminal identification is far murkier than we have been led to believe. Cole traces the modern system of fingerprint identification to the nineteenth-century bureaucratic state, and its desire to track and control increasingly mobile, diverse populations whose race or ethnicity made them suspect in the eyes of authorities. In an intriguing history that traverses the globe, taking us to India, Argentina, France, England, and the United States, Cole excavates the forgotten history of criminal identification-from photography to exotic anthropometric systems based on measuring body parts, from fingerprinting to DNA typing. He reveals how fingerprinting ultimately won the trust of the public and the law only after a long battle against rival identification systems.

As we rush headlong into the era of genetic identification, and as fingerprint errors are being exposed, this history uncovers the fascinating interplay of our elusive individuality, police and state power, and the quest for scientific certainty. Suspect Identities offers a necessary corrective to blind faith in the infallibility of technology, and a compelling look at its role in defining each of us."

By: Simon A. Cole
Imprint: Harvard Uni.Press Academi
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 27mm
Weight: 544g
ISBN: 9780674010024
ISBN 10: 0674010027
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 30 October 2002
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Simon A. Cole is Assistant Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at University of California, Irvine.

Reviews for Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification

Cole weaves the intriguing tale of how and why people were identified as who they claimed to be. This history begins in the era where identification was largely unnecessary because people did not travel very far and were known in their own communities. As both travel and criminal behavior increased, the need to identify people grew...Cole describes the ancient use of fingerprints up through time until they became commonplace for use in identifying criminals. He presents an excellent account of the problems and controversies surrounding the use of fingerprints for identification, ending with the current issues of using DNA for identification. The illustrative stories are excellent, making this a fascinating trip through identification history.--J. A. Brown Choice (12/01/2001)