Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Hi, everyone,

I had a question that I've been getting a lot of conflicting answers to, depending on whom I ask. Some sources say that latex gloves don't leave behind fingerprints, and some say they do, if they are thin enough. Here's one answer I got:

"Wearing thick gloves or leather gloves will cover your fingerprints. Latex gloves are mostly ineffective if you want to remove fingerprints from fingers because the latex in gloves nowadays is very thin to allow doctors and nurses to have the best sense of touch without being in actual contact. Thicker gloves have a downside as well; the glove has its own unique print pattern, fabrics, etc. that can be identified."

Here's another answer I received:

It is also possible for the exterior of the gloves to pick-up contaminants in a configuration matching the underlying ridges. Sometimes this happens because the gloves may hug or conform to the ridge shape. More often, it is a result of the local pressure exerted on the glove by the underlying ridges along with an ideal viscosity in the contaminant (almost dry oily residue, greasy dirt, etc.) on the surface touched. The result in these (non-permeating) situations is not latent print residue transferring through the gloves, but the gloves acting like a rubber stamp.

Now I've had other people say that this is flat out wrong, and that latex gloves will NEVER leave behind fingerprints, except on the gloves themselves.

Does anyone have a definitive answer for this?

Thanks.

They CAN.

They CAN.Yes the can. I can't speak to your anonymous sources or their credibility, but as a crime scene investigator I can confirm prints can still be obtained if a suspect wears gloves (latex or otherwise). Specifics of how they can be obtained will not be discussed as that information is law enforcement sensitive.

I know of case where we got them off the inside of the glove also!