Some even admitted that the collection of fingerprints at the scene was frequently done for public relations purposes only-to appear to be doing something to solve the crime. It meant a great deal of time and effort, and was rarely useful without a suspect in mind. Before automated systems, examiners would have to look through fingerprints on file by hand, using ten-print cards (on which a booked criminal has rolled all ten fingerprints in ink). In 1985, this use of computers was brand new.
Still, the technology we use today allows quick searches of a vast number of fingerprints, and if a criminal leaves a fingerprint behind we can see if he’s ever been booked and fingerprinted, or if we have the same print on file from another scene. In reality, the database kicks back “likely” matches and a trained fingerprint examiner must compare them to find an actual match. Today, television detectives run fingerprints from a crime scene through an automated database and get results in seconds-somewhat inaccurately. The Night Stalker case was among the first major cases to use automated fingerprinting technology. While the capture of the Night Stalker was a credit to law enforcement’s use of the media, his identification as Ramirez was the result of another modern technique.
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