UAE: 2 Dubai Police officers become first Arab fingerprint experts

Dubai - They received IAI certification in forensic fingerprint analysis

Two Dubai Police officers have become the first in the Arab world to receive a reputed certification in forensic fingerprint analysis.

The International Association of Identification (IAI) in the US has accredited Captain Muhammad Ahmad Al Suwaidi and First-Lieutenant Abdurrahman Al Muhairi from the General Department of Forensics and Criminology as international latent print examiners.

The recognition enables them to participate in solving cases around the world and testify before international courts in forensic fingerprints analysis.

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

Captain Al Suwaidi said they had to demonstrate their ability to conduct analysis and evaluation in a visual comparison of latent and patent prints to “friction ridge standards”. These included fingerprints - joint and tip - palm prints, and footprints.

The programme helped the officers understand visualisation of areas of friction ridge detail using chemical, physical, and electronic development techniques.

Captain Al Suwaidi said the process of accreditation was “challenging but rewarding”.

“We had to sharpen our skills and abilities to properly testify to scientific findings in courts of law.”

First-Lieutenant Al Muhairi explained that they had to perform 1,200 technical comparisons of latent prints before they underwent theoretical and practical tests.

• Dubai