POROSCOPY
1. The term "poroscopy" which was first coined by the French Criminologist Dr. Edmond
Locard, refers to a specialised identification procedure that involves examining the sweat
pores that develop along the papillary ridges of the skin.
2. A pore is an opening on the ridge surface that continually excretes sweat. The pores are
permanent and vary from person to person. The pores in fingerprints are responsible for
transferring oils onto a surface, replicating the friction ridge pattern observed on the fingertip,
including the minutiae.
3. Sweat pore characteristics include pore size, shape, position, distribution, frequency, and
pore-to-pore interspace The skin's papillary ridges have an average of 2700 sweat glands per
…
square inch and are frequently classified as open or closed based on their position on the
ridges.
4. Poroscopy is a more accurate and dependable feature of fingerprint analysis because it falls
under level 3 identification detail. It is a way of identifying people by comparing the
impressions of sweat pores on Palmer and planter surfaces, or in a larger sense.
5. Based to a number of studies, these pores are also unique to each individual and vary in
shape, size, location, and frequency along the friction ridges, and are employed in
criminalistics alongside Dactyloscopy for identifying purposes. It entails the examination of
pores evident in crime scene imprints and a person's fingerprints. When the comparison
impression was of poor quality, the experts use poroscopy as alternative method of
identification.
The following pore characteristics were studied through poroscopy:
1. The number of pores
2.Pore spacing (distance between pores)
3. Pore size (minute, medium, or large)
4.Pore shape (circular, rhomboid, elliptical, square, or rectangular)
5. Pore placement on the ridge. (whether in the centre or at the periphery of a ridge).
Even though poroscopy is a reliable method of identification due to the smaller number of
studies related to it, poroscopy is only applied in less than 1% cases. As precise and
dependable as the ridge-based identification, poroscopy also gives equally same extend of
accuracy in identification.
SHAPE AND STRUCTURE OF PORES:
Sweat pores in fingerprints come in a broad range of shapes, most of them are elliptical or
spherical. These pores are deliberately placed among ridge structures on the skin's surface,
which contributes to the distinct patterns seen in fingerprints.
Figure; Shape & Structure of pores [1]
The shape of pores can vary from square, triangle, round, oval, or irregular. It should be noted
that pore shape is often determined by pore size or pore area. The pore size is typically 50-
265 m in diameter; however, the pore size is dependent on deposition or detection methods,
deposition pressures, sweat activity, and fingerprint donors, among other factors. The size of
the pore changes with age, but its shape, relative position, and nature stay constant
throughout an individual's life.
PORE FREQUENCY:
Sweat pores form in the sixth month of pregnancy and are fixed onto the ridges, with 9-18
pores per centimetre of ridge. These pores are spread unevenly over the ridges on the skin's
surface, resulting in a distinctive pattern known as pore frequency. Pore frequency refers to
the number of sweat pores present in a certain location of the fingerprint. This frequency can
vary between persons and even within various sections of the same fingerprint. Pore
frequency is used by forensic scientists and professionals as one of the criteria in fingerprint
analysis and identification. They can improve the accuracy and reliability of fingerprint
identification by researching the distribution and frequency of sweat pores.
IMPORTANCE OF POROSCOPY
The following reasons makes the poroscopy much more significant in forensic aspect.
Individual Identification: Sweat pore patterns and other dermatoglyphic traits
analysed in poroscopy are unique to each individual. This distinguishing feature is
critical for precise and dependable identification in forensic investigations.
Forensic Matching: Automated technologies, such as Automated Fingerprint
Identification technologies (AFIS), use poroscopy to match fingerprints collected at
crime scenes with those in databases. This technology speeds up the identification
process and assists law enforcement in solving cases.
Crime Scene Investigations: Poroscopy aids in the study of latent prints found at
crime scenes. Identification of certain sweat pore patterns assists forensic experts in
making a connection between the evidence and prospective suspects.
Exclusionary Power: When dermatoglyphic patterns are analysed using poroscopy,
the unique nature of the patterns allows for the exclusion of individuals who do not fit
the detected patterns. This can aid in narrowing down suspect lists and concentrating
investigative efforts.
Cold Case Resolution: Advances in poroscopy and fingerprint databases allow police
to review cold cases and potentially solve them through later identifications in
circumstances where fingerprints were collected but not immediately matched to a
known individual.
Identity Fraud Prevention: Poroscopy is employed in different identification
processes, which helps to avoid identity fraud. It guarantees that people are correctly
identified in circumstances like border control, immigration, and other security-
related scenarios.
