New fingerprint device unveiled in Northampton

A pioneering new forensic device developed by a Northamptonshire Police expert has been unveiled.

The machine Cera (Cartridge Electrostatic Recovery and Analysis) reveals fingerprints on discharged bullet cartridges.

The new technique was devised by Northamptonshire Police scientific support manager Dr John Bond.

The machine has a camera and lighting to generate a 360-degree image of a fingerprint from a cartridge surface.

'Improving trust'

It has been manufactured by the firm Consolite Forensics.

It was unveiled at Northamptonshire Police headquarters at Wootton Hall, in Northampton.

Chief Constable Adrian Lee said: "The development of this device will serve to improve the trust and confidence of the people we serve.

"The link between developments in forensic science aiding detection of offenders, and trust and confidence, is clear."

The device will undergo further testing and will then be sold to police forces across the world.

Dr Bond said that since the technique was devised, police from all over the world had been sending cartridges from unsolved murders for analysis.