Questionable Patterns
No matter how definite fingerprint rules and pattern definitions are made, there will always be patterns concerning which there is doubt as to the classification they should be given. The primary reason for this is the fact that probably no two fingerprints will ever appear which are exactly alike. Other reasons are differences in the degree of judgment and interpretation of the individual classifying fingerprints, the difference in the amount of pressure used by the person taking the prints, and the amount or kind of ink used. Nothing can be done about faulty inking or pressure once the prints are taken. The patterns which are questionable merely because they seem to have characteristics of two or more types can be classified by strict adherence to the definitions in deducing a preference. The following section is devoted to such patterns with an explanation of each.
Figure 297 has two loop formations. The one on the left, however, has an appendage abutting upon the shoulders of its recurve at a right angle. The left portion of the impression, therefore, is of the tented arch type. The combination of two different types of patterns would be classified in the whorl group (accidental), but this impression has only the one delta. The right portion of the pattern detail contains a true loop which fulfills all the loop requirements, i.e., a sufficient recurve, a delta, and a ridge count across a looping ridge. In the choice existing between a tented arch and a loop, preference is given to the loop classification and this impression would be classified as a loop.
[Fig. 297]
Figure 298, at a glance, seems to fulfill the requirements of a whorl (two deltas and a ridge making a complete circuit). The part of the circuit in front of the right delta, however, cannot be construed as a recurving ridge because of the appendage abutting upon it in the line of flow. This pattern, therefore, is a one-count loop.
[Fig. 298]
Figure 299 is a very difficult and unusual pattern. It has characteristics of three types, the whorl, the loop, and the tented arch. It is given the preference of an accidental type of whorl (loop over a tented arch). This pattern should be referenced both as a loop and as a tented arch.
