NCJ Number
195242
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 47 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 244-253
Date Published
2002
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on the testing of the use of identifiable fluorescent markers as tracers to tail suspects.
Abstract
The tracers used phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, perylene, and coronene in vaseline as the carrier of the marker. In case 1 of the operational uses, a marker was squeezed out from a tube and then applied by hand on gravel in front of the house of thieves as a tracer. After the marker was stepped on by the thieves, it was carried to the crime scene on their shoes. The marker was searched for by using a UV Lamp. In case 2 the marker was injected into extremely thin rubber tubes, which were then cut into short 5 mm tubes. The tubes were scattered in front of the thief's house entrance, where he stepped on them. The marker was transferred from the tubes to his shoes and was detected at the scene by using a UV lamp. In case 3 the marker was used in order to apprehend a criminal who rummaged habitually through office desks at midnight. The ethanol solution of the marker was sprayed on the drawers of the desks and the surrounding floors. In the testing, perylene and fluoranthene with vaseline emitted a strong pale light under UV light at about 365 nm. All six compounds were identified selectively and sensitively without interference of vaseline by using a high performance liquid chromatograph with a fluorescence detector. The detection limit was much less than 1 ng, corresponding to that of the observation behavior under UV light. The results indicate that each component with vaseline was more effective than the individual component for the delay in degradation. 7 figures, 1 table, and 14 references