Fingerprinting; How can I get it done to catch a theif?

[Sackett]

I had a tent blind, a new Moultrie camera and winch up feeder stolen the last day of the season. They left the winch which they had to handle to get the feeder off. I pulled it and would like to know if its possible to have someone pull prints off them, assuming they didn't use gloves.

If you have any ideas you don't want to post, you can email me sackettcommercialservices at g mail dot com.

Thanks.

[systemnt]

http://www.diylife.com/2008/01/24/diy-csi-lift-fingerprints-with-super-glue/

[2B4Him]

I would caution: don't get your hopes up.
1st of all, I don't think any law enforcement agency will accept 'purported' fingerprints that they did not collect (chain of evidence type issues).
Secondly, my experience has been that most law enforcement agencies view 'petty crime' issues as too time-consuming for investing their time/energy. Example: at our self-storage facility, some yahoo broke into several RV's, even cutting himself and leaving blood evidence inside one of the RV's. Police wouldn't try to get fingerprints (said weather would have ruined them) and wouldn't collect blood samples for a property crime.
While I enjoy many of the CSI-type shows, they definitely put unrealistically high expectations in our minds of what to expect.

[bps3040]

I would caution: don't get your hopes up.
1st of all, I don't think any law enforcement agency will accept 'purported' fingerprints that they did not collect (chain of evidence type issues).
Secondly, my experience has been that most law enforcement agencies view 'petty crime' issues as too time-consuming for investing their time/energy. Example: at our self-storage facility, some yahoo broke into several RV's, even cutting himself and leaving blood evidence inside one of the RV's. Police wouldn't try to get fingerprints (said weather would have ruined them) and wouldn't collect blood samples for a property crime.
While I enjoy many of the CSI-type shows, they definitely put unrealistically high expectations in our minds of what to expect.

+1, police will not touch it. To petty of a crime.

[systemnt]

fingerprints only prove they were there at some point in time... does not prove they did anything.
if its just for your own knowledge...to give you some comfort in knowing who was one of the last people touching the winch...maybe to meet him... ask him what he knows...bury him up to his neck.... well then.. theres no hurt in investigating the fingerprints then ..

[tvc184]

The problem with getting fingerprints, even if you got a police department to do it, is to find out who the print belongs to. There are millions of fingerprints out there in the possession of the cops that are sitting there waiting for a suspect. It is not as easy as just having a good fingerprint. Even if the cops came out and told you they have enough of a fingerprint to make a comparison, who are they going to compare it to?

It is not like they will pull out the thousands of fingerprints in their files and start hand searching them. Fingerprints can be great evidence because it means that a particular person touched a particular item. It can confirm a suspect but you first need a suspect. Then the suspect will need to have already been fingerprinted. If it is the good ol' boy from the next lease who had no criminal record, the prints wil be for nothing.

The police can put the print in the national computer system for a search if the print is good enough but not for misdemeanor theft.

Fingerprints can be awesome evidence and I have put people in prison with ones that I have lifted from crime scenes. The chance of making a case solely from a print from a misdemeanor theft has about a 99.999999% of not working though.

[BIG IRON]

There is no money to be made by trying to catch a petty thief. Traffic tickets is where it is at