Editing Fingerprint (section)

== Limitations and implications in a forensic context ==
One of the main limitations of friction ridge impression evidence regarding the actual collection would be the surface environment, specifically talking about how porous the surface the impression is on.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Forensic Science - evidence-processing |url=https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/bca-divisions/forensic-science/Pages/evidence-processing.aspx |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=dps.mn.gov}}</ref> With non-porous surfaces, the residues of the impression will not be absorbed into the material of the surface, but could be smudged by another surface.<ref name=":5" /> With porous surfaces, the residues of the impression will be absorbed into the surface.<ref name=":5" /> With both resulting in either an impression of no value to examiners or the destruction of the friction ridge impressions.

In order for analysts to correctly positively identify friction ridge patterns and their features depends heavily on the clarity of the impression.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Hicklin |first1=R. Austin |last2=Buscaglia |first2=JoAnn |last3=Roberts |first3=Maria Antonia |date=2013-03-10 |title=Assessing the clarity of friction ridge impressions |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037907381200552X |journal=Forensic Science International |language=en |volume=226 |issue=1 |pages=106–117 |doi=10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.12.015 |pmid=23313600 |issn=0379-0738}}</ref><ref name=":022">{{Cite journal |last=Ashbaugh |first=David |date=1991 |title=Ridgeology |url=https://chance.dartmouth.edu/chance_news/for_chance_news/ChanceNews12.05/ridgeology.pdf |journal=Journal of Forensic Identification |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=16–64}}</ref> Therefore, the analysis of friction ridges is limited by clarity.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":022" />

In a court context, many have argued that friction ridge identification and ridgeology should be classified as opinion evidence and not as fact, therefore should be assessed as such.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Champod |first=Christophe |date=2015-08-05 |title=Fingerprint identification: advances since the 2009 National Research Council report |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=370 |issue=1674 |pages=20140259 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2014.0259 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=4581003 |pmid=26101284}}</ref> Many have said that friction ridge identification is only legally admissible today because during the time when it was added to the legal system, the admissibility standards were quite low.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yumpu.com |title=Individualization Using Friction Skin Impressions: Scientifically ... |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/10177242/individualization-using-friction-skin-impressions-scientifically- |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=yumpu.com |language=en}}</ref> There are only a limited number of studies that have been conducted to help confirm the science behind this identification process.<ref name=":022" />