Tattoo Analysis in Forensics (2024)

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People have been tattooing their skin for centuries. In ancient Egypt and India, tattoos were supposed to have healing powers and were also used as methods of religious worship.

Archaeologists have found tattoo tools in France, Portugal, and Scandinavia dating back at least 12,000 years. The oldest documented tattoos belong to Otzi the Iceman, a man who lived and died in the European Alps over 5,000 years ago.

In the modern-day, tattoos are seen as an expression of individuality, as well as serving as signs of gang affiliations and even military rank. Generally, tattoos can distinguish a person. For this reason, for centuries tattoos have helped identify both the living and the dead.

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The role of tattoos and tattoo inks in forensic investigations

Tattoos can help identify a person; they are distinguishable features that can help provide more information about a Jane or John Doe, perhaps even how they may have died.

Firstly, tattoos can provide a point of recognition when other recognizable features, such as facial features and fingerprints, have been damaged or removed. Tattoos can provide a way to identify a body so that the deceased can be named. This can often help in criminal cases where a victim needs to be identified, or, even a perpetrator.

Tattoos can do more than identify a body. Certain tattoos in different global regions can convey particular meanings, which can help give investigators a richer view of the person’s life, beliefs they may have had, activities they may have enjoyed, and even gangs they may have been a part of.

Identification of gang members is particularly useful in criminal investigations. Many gangs have well-known tattoos associated with membership. The Latin Kings, based in Chicago, use the letters “ALKN”. The Crips, based in Los Angeles, have many tattoos linked with gang membership. The motorcycle gang the Hell’s Angels also have several tattoos associated with them, including the red-and-white winged "death's head" logo. Identifying a body as a person with gang affiliations can be a significant lead in solving a criminal case.

Additionally, tattoos have been known to depict certain beliefs or life experiences a person may have. Those who are experienced in the history and meaning of tattoos can decipher images that represent military service or rank in certain countries, anti-police messages (on ex-prisoners), and illicit drug use.

Tattoo inks as well as the images themselves can be critical in generating investigatory leads for criminal cases. The chemical analysis of inks can determine their organic and inorganic composition, which can give clues as to where the tattoo was made. Recent research has used various methods to successfully analyze tattoo inks, including -ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS).

These techniques can also be employed to help when the visualization of tattoos is hindered by the discoloration of the skin during decomposition. In some cases, the ink may no longer be visible, but the components of the ink remain under the skin’s surface and can be used to identify the color and position of the original image. In cases where the body has begun to decompose, the use of the methods outlined above can provide valuable sources of information that can turn into leads.

Cases that have been solved by tattoos

A number of criminal cases around have been solved with the help of tattoos. For example, a murder that took place in the US in 2004 was solved in 2011 when a police officer recognized a street-gang member’s tattoo when looking through photos of gang members. The tattoos of Anthony Garcia, a member of the Rivera 13 gang had been photographed, as is protocol with gang members, when he had been arrested in 2008 for suspicion of driving without a license.

This year, in India, the dismembered body of a man was found discarded in a drain in Navi Mumbai. Within three days, the police were able to identify them by the tattoo he had on his arm.

These cases demonstrate the usefulness of tattoos in assisting criminal investigations. Currently, around four-in-ten people have a tattoo meaning that, second only to fingerprints, tattoos are the most important tool for identifying suspects.

In the future, it is likely that analysis of tattoos and tattoo inks will continue to play a major role in forensic investigations to help identify victims as well as suspects. The critical importance of tattoos in criminal investigations should not be overlooked. Given that more and more people are getting tattoos, this kind of analysis will likely become more important in the future.

Further Reading

• All Forensics Content
• Collecting Evidence at a Crime Scene
• Using Forensics to Tackle Child Exploitation
• Forensic Investigations of Natural Disasters
• Forensic Identification in Mass Disasters

Written by

Sarah Moore

After studying Psychology and then Neuroscience, Sarah quickly found her enjoyment for researching and writing research papers; turning to a passion to connect ideas with people through writing.

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