The Recovery of Fibres from the Surface of Clothing for Forensic Examinations

Five searching methods for removing transferred fibres from five representative articles of men's clothing have been evaluated. Results are quoted for the searching efficiency of shaking, vacuuming, a nylon brush fabric, and high and low adhesive tapes. The efficiency of the last three were significantly higher than the previous two. The number of background fibres removed together with the transferred fibres from a recipient garment were compared for the best three searching techniques. In the light of these results it is tentatively suggested which is the method of choice under a given set of circumstances. A study was also under-taken on the number of fibres lost during the packaging of the clothing exhibits.