Al Suwaidi receives the certification.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Assistant Expert Captain Muhammad Ahmad Al Suwaidi and Assistant Expert 1st Lieutenant Abdurrahman Al Muhairi, from the General Department of Forensics and Criminology at Dubai Police, have recently received accreditation and recognition as international latent print examiners from the International Association of Identification (IAI) in the United States of America.

They are the first two officers in the Arab region to receive this prestigious accreditation which enables them to participate in solving cases around the world and testify before international courts in the field of forensic fingerprint analysis.

The International Association for Identification (IAI) is the largest forensic organisation in the world. It was originally formed as the "International Association for Criminal Identification" in October 1915. Through the years it has grown into an educational and certification body with over 6,000 members worldwide.

Expert Brigadier Ahmad Mattar Al Muhairi, Acting Director of the General Department of Forensics and Criminology, said this international accreditation is in line with the leadership's vision to seek excellence at its highest levels and in all fields, and helps consolidate the force’s leading position in the field of latent print forensics.

1st Lieutenant Abdurrahman Al Muhairi.

Meanwhile, Captain Al Suwaidi said they had to demonstrate their ability to conduct the analysis, comparison, and evaluation involved in a visual comparison of latent prints and patent prints to friction ridge standards including fingerprints, joint fingerprints, tip fingerprints, palm prints, and footprints and arrive at correct conclusions

He added that the programme has helped them gain more knowledge and understanding of the methods involved in processing items of evidence for the visualisation of areas of friction ridge detail using chemical, physical, and electronic development techniques.

Captain Al Suwaidi confirmed that the process of accreditation was challenging but rewarding, as they had to acquire the knowledge and understanding of friction skin development, anatomy, physiology, and morphology.

In addition, they had to master photography and other preservation techniques of areas of friction ridge detail, apart from the proper documentation and reporting of latent print evidence. They also had to sharpen their skills and abilities to properly testify to scientific findings in courts of law.

1st Lieutenant Al Muhairi further explained that they had to perform 1,200 technical comparisons of latent prints before they underwent theoretical and practical tests that include comparing complex fingerprint traces.