Past Crimes and Fingerprints in Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara, California 95050

My friend's house was broken into and the police found fingerprints that didn't match to anyone in the database. If the offender goes to jail for a different crime in the future, will their fingerprints automatically show up for this crime?

What I am asking is, when his fingerprints get taken at the jail, will his prints be matched with all other unsolved previous crimes, like this one?

If he goes to jail, are his prints automatically compared or is it by request of the victim?

Does my friend have to go to the police station and request a fingerprint examination/look up to keep up to date and see if the offender is on record yet?

DellLaptop said:

My friend's house was broken into and the police found fingerprints that didn't match to anyone in the database. If the offender goes to jail for a different crime in the future, will their fingerprints automatically show up for this crime?

Click to expand...

It is possible, yes.

If he goes to jail, are his prints automatically compared or is it by request of the victim?

Click to expand...

It depends on the system used. The victim cannot request it, but the agency can. Most of the time, if there is a good match it will be flagged and the agency that entered the evidence latent will be notified of a possible suspect. I can't say this WILL happen, but it CAN happen.

Unfortunately, most of the time break-ins are conducted by friends or family of the victim. If that is the case, then the presence of their prints at the scene would not prove the theft (unless they were in a place that ONLY the thief would have left them ... and this is rare). Unfortunately for the prosecution, if all they had was a fingerprint in such a case, they would not get very far because the defense could likely provide a plausible explanation for the print being in the home he has been to before.

In short, it might show up. If it does, great. But, very often these go unsolved. Plus, if it shows up after three years, then the statue of limitations will have expired.