When dealing with a crime, criminals are able to hide many types of evidence. Evidence that is almost impossible to hide are footprints. Due to the difficulty of covering fingerprints, they are the most important part of solving a crime. The types of prints range from fingerprints to palm prints, and even lip prints can be used to solve a crime. Footprints are the most important piece of evidence because footprints are left wherever someone touches them, they are not easily covered, all footprints are unique, and because many parts of your body make footprints without you even trying. When talking about the importance of prints it is crucial to note that prints play many roles and for the most part the average person knows no more about them than they have seen on CSI or other television shows. With enough research you discover that footprints are more complex, interesting and unique than you might think. My research topic is very important because people don't realize that without fingerprints crimes would be much more difficult to solve. Without fingerprints there would be no crime scene evidence that would hold up long enough without disappearing. What people need to realize is that there is much more behind fingerprints than just fingerprints and that the process of collecting and processing involves much more than what is shown on television. When dealing with prints it is important to understand that prints are very fragile and can be easily obstructed during the removal process. Removing a print is trickier than it sounds, due to the care needed and the fact that you really only get one chance when doing it. Prints are one of a kind, so no two people can have the same prints. This only increases the importance of the prints so that… half the paper… is suitable for fibers such as cloth fibers. Again this can rule out suspects based on whether they have the right clothing, but it can't place someone at a crime scene unless something rare is found. Even then, a suspect may still be able to discard clothing but cannot eliminate fingerprints on his or her body. Fingerprints are the most important piece of evidence for solving a crime because fingerprints are left wherever someone touches them, they are not easily hidden, all prints are unique, and because many parts of your body make prints without you even trying. The information provided above should be used in an effort to educate future investigators on the importance of fingerprints and why they should be properly cared for when dealing with criminal investigations and prosecutions. Don't commit a crime, because the fingerprints will leave you behind bars and you will be a very unhappy person.