              BEST FOOT FORWARD:  INFANT FOOTPRINTS
                   FOR PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

                               By

                   Michael E. Stapleton, M.A.
                          Special Agent
                    San Jose Resident Agency
                  FBI's San Francisco Division


     Every new mother feels certain she knows her own child. This
"woman's intuition" makes baby-switching incidents that much more
terrifying. If an infant's mother cannot positively identify her
own offspring, who can?  The answer to this question rests on the
soles of the baby's feet.

     Whenever sensational crimes such as baby-switching or the
abduction of infants or young children appear in the news,
interest in footprint identification techniques increases. In
recent years, however, the print media, including several medical
journals, have expressed the opinion that hospitals waste time
and money by footprinting newborns. To support their arguments,
the authors of these articles point out that delivery room
personnel do not take consistently legible infant footprints
suitable for identification purposes.
     
     One article cited a study in which footprints were obtained
from 20 newborns at 5 different nurseries with techniques known
to provide maximum detail. An unidentified "police
dermatoglyphist" examined the footprints. This print
identification expert found 89 percent to be technically
inadequate for identification purposes, with only 1 percent
possessing sufficient ridge detail for positive identification.
The article concluded by stating that the typical health care
professional is not fully aware of "...how unreliable footprints
of a newborn happen to be for purposes of identification." (1)

     In a 1988 publication, the American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
(ACOG) stated that "...individual hospitals may want to continue
the practice of footprinting or fingerprinting, but universal use
of this practice is no longer recommended." (2) Both organiza-
tions based their findings on studies that demonstrated that the
majority of infant footprints taken by hospital personnel prove
inadequate for identification purposes. They also contend that
better identification techniques, such as DNA genotyping (3) and
human leukocyte antigen tests, (4) exist.

     In contrast, the FBI continues to advocate and encourage
footprinting infants at birth, believing that this process
represents a reliable, expeditious, and cost-efficient method for
establishing probable personal identity. This article offers
justification for continuing this important practice and provides
information for law enforcement professionals desiring to train
hospital personnel in proper printing techniques.

THE VALUE OF FOOTPRINTING

     Print experts agree that every individual's prints contain
friction ridge minutiae, i.e., ridge detail, that are unique to
that person. Even the footprints and fingerprints of identical
twins are different. Furthermore, friction ridge minutiae remain
naturally unchanged throughout a person's life. Because of this
consistency, FBI print experts have identified the adult victims
of such disasters as fires and airplane crashes by using the
footprints of the individuals taken in infancy.

     A common misconception exists today that DNA genotyping 
represents a means of identification superior to fingerprinting
or footprinting. In reality, just the opposite is true. A legible
footprint with clear friction ridge minutiae provides the most
certain form of identification available and, further, may be of
more immediate value to law enforcement officials for the
following reasons:

     --   Fingerprints and footprints of identical twins are
          different, but DNA genotyping technology presently
          cannot distinguish between them

     --   Fingerprints and footprints can be compared and a
          positive identification made by a print expert, usually
          within a relatively short period of time; DNA
          genotyping and analysis can take up to 3 months to
          complete

     --   Fingerprints and footprints can be taken at negligible
          expense, while DNA genotyping and analysis can cost
          several thousand dollars.

     In short, although DNA genotyping represents an excellent
technology for determining probable identity, it may not satisfy
the immediate investigative needs of law enforcement officers due
to its cost and the time required to complete testing and
analysis. Infant abduction cases often move quickly, requiring
law enforcement officials to react swiftly. Friction ridge
minutiae examination and analysis offer law enforcement a fast
and accessible form of identification.

TRAINING HOSPITAL PERSONNEL

     For decades, the FBI has advocated using infant footprints
for identification purposes, encouraging hospitals to learn
proper techniques. As early as 1966, (5) the FBI provided
guidelines, procedures, and recommendations concerning why and
how hospital personnel should obtain the footprints of newborns.
The procedures remain largely unchanged today. In fact, inkless
methods now available make obtaining footprints even easier.

     If infant prints prove technically inadequate for
identification purposes, it does not mean the method itself is
unsound. Rather, hospital personnel lack the necessary skills and
knowledge to carry out the printing process consistently and
accurately. Hospitals must ensure their delivery room personnel
receive proper training so that they obtain legible and
identifiable prints.

     The nearest FBI field office or other local law enforcement
agency can provide a fingerprint expert to train hospital
personnel in foot-printing procedures. In a short period of time,
health care professionals can acquire the skills and knowledge
they need to complete the practice on their own.

     A comprehensive training session should consist of
discussion, demonstration, and practice. Instructors should
emphasize the value of footprinting infants, explain how
fingerprint and footprint friction ridge identifications are
made, provide examples of ink and inkless methods for recording
footprints, and explain and illustrate the difference between
legible and illegible footprints. After reviewing the materials
necessary for footprinting, the instructor can demonstrate the
footprinting procedure.

     More important, participants learn by doing. Hospital
personnel should practice taking infant footprints, with the
instructor offering helpful suggestions and feedback. Personnel
should concentrate on the ball of the foot when printing, because
this area typically contains sufficient ridge detail to make an
identification. Quite often, however, the portion of legible
friction ridge minutiae needed to identify a footprint is very
small.

     In addition, including the fingerprint of the mother on the
infant's footprint document links the child to the mother,
eliminating any doubt of parentage. For this reason, hospital
personnel also should learn how to take fingerprints.

     Finally, the instructor may wish to provide a written
handout outlining the printing procedure for the participants'
future reference. Some instructors even award their students
certificates, documenting their successful completion of the
training.

CONCLUSION

     Arguing that hospitals should discontinue footprinting
infants because inadequately trained personnel cannot take
legible prints compares to advocating that law enforcement stop
fingerprinting criminals because officers sometimes take
illegible prints. It simply does not make sense.

     The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in
its infant abduction prevention guidelines issued to medical
facilities nationwide, advocates footprinting all newborns within
2 hours of birth, preferably before the infant is removed from
the delivery room. The center describes the footprinting
procedure as a necessary, proactive prevention measure that every
medical facility should conduct. (6)

     The identification of individuals by their friction ridge
minutiae continues to offer law enforcement officials the most
certain, expeditious, and cost-effective method for establishing
probable personal identity. When properly trained, hospital
personnel can assist law enforcement efforts by successfully and
consistently obtaining footprints of newborns. Whether used to
save a life or merely to give worried parents peace of mind,
these tiny footprints make a big impression on health care
professionals, law enforcement officials, and parents   
nationwide.


ENDNOTES

     (1)  Frank A. Oski and Beryl J. Rosenstein, "Newborn
Identification," Pediatric Currents, 42, (1993): 10.

     (2)  AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn and Committee on
Obstetrics, Maternal and Fetal Medicine: Guidelines for Perinatal 
Care, 2d ed. (Evanston, Illinois: AAP/ACOG, 1988),  85.

     (3)  DNA genotyping is the process of establishing probable
individual identity through scientific analysis of DNA contained
in some human cellular material.

     (4)  A human leukocyte antigen test can establish probable
individual identity through scientific analysis of hereditary
protein material.

     (5)  "Footprinting of Infants," FBI Law Enforcement
Bulletin, October 1966, 8.

     (6)  John B. Rabun, Jr., National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children, For Healthcare Professionals: Guidelines on
Preventing Infant Abductions, 3d ed., June 1993.

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