Harry Jackson
Encyclopedia
Harry Jackson was the first man to be convicted in the United Kingdom
via fingerprint
evidence.
On June 27, 1902, a burglary occurred in a house in Denmark Hill
, London
, and some billiard
balls were stolen. The investigating officer noticed a number of fingerprints on a freshly painted windowsill, apparently where the burglar made his entry. He immediately called the Metropolitan Police Fingerprint Bureau, and Detective-Sergeant Charles Stockley Collins went to the scene. He examined the marks and decided that the left thumb made the clearest impression. After satisfying himself that the marks had not left by any member of the household, Collins took a photograph of it.
Returning to the Bureau, Collins and his colleagues made a search of their files for known criminals with a similar print pattern. The files revealed that the fingerprints belonged to a 41-year old labourer, Harry Jackson, who had recently served a prison term for burglary. He was arrested, and for safety's sake, fingerprinted again. This new set was compared to the prints photographed from the crime scene and again they matched.
Since the crime of burglary required a jury trial in the Old Bailey
, Edward Henry
, the Assistant Commissioner (Crime)
of the Metropolitan Police Service
and head of the Criminal Investigation Department
, was determined to make this case succeed. As the man who devised the Henry System of Fingerprint Classification
and the founder of the Fingerprint Bureau, he knew that only the soundest sort of Crown prosecutor would be able to convince conservative English judges and a sceptical jury to overcome their prejudices. For this purposes, he decided on Richard Muir
, a prosecutor with a reputation for thoroughness and exacting nature.
Henry sent Collins to Muir to brief him on fingerprinting technique for four days. Muir afterwards became so convinced of its value that he said later on that he would have taken a far shakier case if it could have helped Henry win public recognition for his work.
When Harry Jackson went on trial at the Old Bailey, Muir did what he was asked to do: he convinced the jury of the absolute reliability of fingerprints. As a result, Harry Jackson was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison on September 13, 1902.
While it clearly set a precedent on the admissibility of fingerprints as evidence, some people were unhappy about the turn of events. As one letter to The Times
(signed by "A Disgusted Magistrate") stated: "Scotland Yard
, once known as the world’s finest police organisation, will be the laughing stock of Europe
it if insists on trying to trace criminals by odd ridges on their skins."
Jackson's status as the first person to be arrested on the basis of fingerprint evidence was the subject of episode 4 of "Connections 2", a documentary series by James Burke
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
via fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
evidence.
On June 27, 1902, a burglary occurred in a house in Denmark Hill
Denmark Hill
Denmark Hill is an area and road in the London Borough of Southwark. The road forms part of the A215; north of Camberwell Green it becomes Camberwell Road; south of Red Post Hill it becomes Herne Hill. Its postcode is SE5. Nearby streets whose names refer to different aspects of the same...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and some billiard
Billiard
-Games:* A , a type of shot in cue sports * Billiards: cue sports in general, including pool, carom billiards, snooker, etc.; the term "billiards" by itself is also sometimes used to refer to any of the following more specifically:...
balls were stolen. The investigating officer noticed a number of fingerprints on a freshly painted windowsill, apparently where the burglar made his entry. He immediately called the Metropolitan Police Fingerprint Bureau, and Detective-Sergeant Charles Stockley Collins went to the scene. He examined the marks and decided that the left thumb made the clearest impression. After satisfying himself that the marks had not left by any member of the household, Collins took a photograph of it.
Returning to the Bureau, Collins and his colleagues made a search of their files for known criminals with a similar print pattern. The files revealed that the fingerprints belonged to a 41-year old labourer, Harry Jackson, who had recently served a prison term for burglary. He was arrested, and for safety's sake, fingerprinted again. This new set was compared to the prints photographed from the crime scene and again they matched.
Since the crime of burglary required a jury trial in the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
, Edward Henry
Edward Henry
Sir Edward Richard Henry, 1st Baronet GCVO KCB CSI KPM was the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 1903 to 1918....
, the Assistant Commissioner (Crime)
Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, usually just Assistant Commissioner , is the third highest rank in London's Metropolitan Police, ranking below Deputy Commissioner and above Deputy Assistant Commissioner. There are usually four officers in the rank...
of the Metropolitan Police Service
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
and head of the Criminal Investigation Department
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
, was determined to make this case succeed. As the man who devised the Henry System of Fingerprint Classification
Henry Classification System
The Henry Classification System is a long-standing method by which fingerprints are sorted by physiological characteristics for one-to-many searching. Developed by Sir Edward Henry in the late 19th century for criminal investigations in British India, it was the basis of modern day AFIS...
and the founder of the Fingerprint Bureau, he knew that only the soundest sort of Crown prosecutor would be able to convince conservative English judges and a sceptical jury to overcome their prejudices. For this purposes, he decided on Richard Muir
Richard Muir
Sir Richard David Muir was a prosecutor for the British Crown, widely regarded as the greatest of his time; he played a prominent role in many of the most sensational trials of the early part of the 20th century, most notably that of Hawley Harvey Crippen.Muir was born in Scotland, the son of...
, a prosecutor with a reputation for thoroughness and exacting nature.
Henry sent Collins to Muir to brief him on fingerprinting technique for four days. Muir afterwards became so convinced of its value that he said later on that he would have taken a far shakier case if it could have helped Henry win public recognition for his work.
When Harry Jackson went on trial at the Old Bailey, Muir did what he was asked to do: he convinced the jury of the absolute reliability of fingerprints. As a result, Harry Jackson was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison on September 13, 1902.
While it clearly set a precedent on the admissibility of fingerprints as evidence, some people were unhappy about the turn of events. As one letter to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
(signed by "A Disgusted Magistrate") stated: "Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, once known as the world’s finest police organisation, will be the laughing stock of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
it if insists on trying to trace criminals by odd ridges on their skins."
Jackson's status as the first person to be arrested on the basis of fingerprint evidence was the subject of episode 4 of "Connections 2", a documentary series by James Burke
James Burke
- Politics :*James F. Burke , United States Representative from Pennsylvania*Séamus Burke , Irish politician and Minister for Local Government 1923 to 1927 in the Government of the 4th Dáil...
.