Glove prints

Criminals often wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, which makes the investigation of crimes more difficult.

In the era prior to contemporary advances in forensic science, the simple act of covering the hands often assured criminal assailants their anonymity if no witnesses were present during their offenses; thus a pair of gloves became the most essential and crucial tool for any successful perpetrator.

[2] In earlier decades, investigators would dust for fingerprints only to find smears and smudges caused by gloves.

With the advent of latent fingerprint detection in the late 20th century, investigators started to collect, analyze, and record prints left at crime scenes that were created by the wearing of gloves.

Today, latent fingerprints (first discovered on the surfaces of fabrics by investigators in the 1930s),[5] as well as DNA and incriminating bacteria can also be recovered from the inside of these discarded gloves.

[9] In 1971, the Metropolitan Police Service of London, England claims the first (or one of the first) convictions based on glove print-evidence.

[11] Starting in early 2009, law enforcement in Derbyshire, East Midlands, England began uploading hundreds of files of collected glove prints into their criminal database.

Assailants may prefer thin latex gloves because their snug fit helps to maintain dexterity. This same thin and snugness may allow the wearer's fingerprints to pass through the material. When discovered by authorities, latent fingerprints may also be recovered from the inside of these gloves.
Lined leather gloves may leave a print that is as unique as a human fingerprint. When discovered by authorities, latent fingerprints may also be recovered from the inside of these gloves.
Batting gloves usually include an unlined leather palm and a nylon or cotton back. For the same reason baseball players wear these gloves, to improve their grip while maintaining dexterity while batting, assailants wear these gloves as to maintain dexterity and be able to grip easily during their offenses.