Fingerprint Section
144. Fingerprint forms received totalled 59,237, a decrease of 20,700 compared with the previous year. In addition 10,283 fingerprint forms were received for security checks from various Government departments, and were mainly of applicants for licences or prospective employees. Of a total of 514 sets of dead body fingerprints received, 309 (60.1%) were identified. At the end of the year 223,497 sets of fingerprints were on file.
Scene of Crime Section
145. Visits to scenes of crime by this section numbered 1,181 and during the year forty one identifications of criminals were made. Single prints under the Battley system at the end of the year totalled 34,360.
Photographic Section
146. Details of work undertaken by this section are set out below:
1957/58 1958/59
Photographs taken
41,630
39,431
Prints and enlargements made
205,739
217,615
Documents microfilmed for safe keeping Scenes of crime attended by photographers Traffic accidents attended by photographers Other accidents attended by photographers Unidentified bodies photographed at mortuaries
132,520
110,715
877
880
311
74
333
247
696
620
Handwriting Section
147. Expert evidence was given in the Courts in twenty four cases. Routine work performed during the course of the year is shown below,
with last year's figures for comparison:
1957/58
1958/59
Documents submitted for handwriting
examination
635
796
Identification of handwriting
37
48
Documents classified and filed
84
78
Typewritten documents submitted for
examination
85
418
Identification of typewriting
3
7
Typewritten documents filed
9
14
Criminal Records Office
148. The Criminal Records Office has custody of all C.I.D. files and also maintains a main nominal index and various subsidiary indices, e.g. missing persons, property, suspect addresses, etc. During the year requests for record checks of persons, places, organizations, etc. were received at the rate of about 2,000 per month.
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