tion of them may solve the crime and result in successful
prosecution of the subject. Consequently, every effort should be made
to preserve and _identify_ them.

Visible prints in mediums such as blood, grease, dirt, or dust are
equally important to the investigator but, strictly speaking, are not
latent impressions.

A search of the crime scene should be conducted in a logical manner.
Points of entry and exit should be examined, along with surfaces or
objects disturbed or likely touched during the commission of the
crime. The examiner should wear a pair of light cloth gloves and
handle an object only insofar as is necessary and then only by edges
or surfaces which are not receptive to latent impressions. A record of
the exact location of a print on an object and of the object itself
should be made, since these facts may be of the utmost importance in
any trial resulting from the investigation. No one should handle an
object other than the examiner himself.

Portable articles removed should be labeled or marked so that they may
be readily identified thereafter.

The beam of a flashlight played over the surface of an object will
frequently show the location of latent impressions, although this is
not an infallible test for their presence.

Evidence should be examined as soon as feasible after its discovery.

Following the location of any latent prints at the scene of a crime,
the prints of all persons whose presence at the place under inspection
has been for legitimate purposes must be excluded from further
attention. It is advisable, therefore, during the initial stages of an
investigation where latent prints are found, to secure the inked
prints of all members of the household, the employees, and any police
or other officials who may have touched the objects on which the
latent impressions were found. Inked prints taken for this purpose are
referred to as elimination prints.

Due to the fragmentary nature of most latent prints it is not possible
to derive a classification which makes a file search practicable. A
latent impression may be identified, however, by comparison with the
prints of a particular suspect.

Inked fingerprints taken for comparison with latent impressions should
be as legible and as complete as possible, including the areas not
essential to classification, since identifications are often made with
these areas. Inked palm prints taken should likewise be complete and
clear and should include