A RELATIVELY SIMPLE LATENT FINGERPRINT KIT DEVELOPED FOR USE BY POLICE OFFICERS IN MAKING FIELD INVESTIGATIONS OF BURGLARIES AND SIMILAR CRIMES IS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL. IT IS SAID THAT IF MORE OFFICERS LEARN TO USE THE KIT, MORE PROCESSING FOR LATENT PRINTS WOULD BE DONE; IT IS VERY GOOD PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AT LEAST TO MAKE SOME EFFORT IN THIS AREA. METHODS DEVELOPED FOR USE IN DEVELOPING LATENT PRINTS FROM HUMAN SKIN, STYROFOAM, CLOTH, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES WHICH ARE DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH ARE OUTLINED. THE USES OF FINGERPRINTS IN SOLVING CRIMES, EVEN WHERE NO SUSPECT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED, AND A PROPOSED COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM OF CODING AND FILING UNIDENTIFIED FINGERPRINTS ARE DISCUSSED. ANOTHER KIT FOR USE BY POLICE IN ANALYZING GUNSHOT RESIDUE IS DESCRIBED. IT CAN HELP IN DETERMINING WHETHER A VICTIM COMMITTED SUICIDE, FIXING THE DISTANCE OF THE GUN'S MUZZLE FROM THE VICTIM WHEN IT WAS FIRED, AND GATHERING OTHER VALUABLE INFORMATION. CAREFUL HANDLING OF ANY CLOTHING WITH BULLET HOLES IN IT IN ORDER NOT TO DISTURB ANY GUNSHOT RESIDUE IS EMPHASIZED. IN THE AREA OF SEROLOGY, INVESTIGATORS WORK TO DETERMINE IF A STAIN IS BLOOD, THEN TYPE THE BLOOD AND IDENTIFY CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS, SUCH AS SEX, OF THE VICTIM. METHODS OF COLLECTION AND ANALYZING OF SAMPLES ARE OUTLINED. A RAPE KIT HAS ALSO BEEN ESTABLISHED WHICH AIDS IN COLLECTING EVIDENCE FROM THE VICTIM, SUCH AS HAIR FIBERS, BLOOD, AND SEMEN. A FINAL VALUABLE INSTRUMENT IN LABORATORY EXAMINATION OF EVIDENCE IS AN X-RAY ANALYZER. IT ENABLES THE INVESTIGATOR TO IDENTIFY THE ELEMENTS IN A SUBSTANCE FOUND AT THE CRIME SCENE. (VDA)