UNIT 20

► Ex. I. Scan through the text. Restore the word order in the questions that follow and answer them.

Suspect identification by fingerprints. Forensic science plays an important part in the investigation of serious crimes. One of the first significant developments was identification by fingerprints. [Identification is an act of identifying by official papers or cards, such as your passport, that prove who you are. To identify means to recognize and correctly name someone or something. Fingerprint is a mark made by the pattern of lines at the end of a person's finger, which can be used by the police to help find criminals.] It was discovered in the 19th century that almost any contact between a finger and a surface left a latent mark. [Something that is latent is present but hidden, and may develop or become more noticeable in the future.] It was accepted in 1893 that no two individuals had the same fingerprints. Fingerprint evidence was accepted for the first time in an English court in 1902. Fingerprinting is now widely used as a means of identifying criminals. Most major police forces maintain collections of fingerprints taken from known criminals at the time of their conviction, for use in identifying these individuals should they commit later crimes. [Conviction is a decision in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime.] Fingerprints found at the scene of the crime are matched with fingerprints in the collection. According to the British standard, if the sets of fingerprints share at least 16 characteristics, it is considered that they are from the same person.