Running head: CRIME SCENE MANAGEMENT AND INVESTIGATION 1 Crime Scene Management and Investigation Name Institution Date

CRIME SCENE MANAGEMENT AND INVESTIGATION 2 Brandon Mayfield case involved a situation where latent fingerprints were obtained from detonator cap bags during the March terrorist attacks in Madrid. The prints were submitted to the FBI by Spanish authorities and searched through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). The fingerprints were subsequently linked to Brando Mayfield. The IAFIS compares and produces a list of individuals with potential matches. A fingerprint expert the scrutinizes the record to determine the correct match of the prints. On this case, the experts found that the prints belonged to Mayfield. Contrary, upon review it was found that the print image that the FBI submitted was of poor quality and not Madrid’s (Edwards and Gotsonis, 2009). Although this case did not prove that no two fingerprints are alike, it was evident that there swere some biases and the ‘circular reasoning’ of the FBI. If the fingerprint experts had been working without any external influence, they would have found the correct match of the prints. To prove that no two fingerprints are alike, fingerprint expert examination should be conducted. This where an experienced print expert is taken to determine the correct match of the print in the available database. Sometimes this type of testing may not be feasible like for the case of Mr.