Dalrymple, Brian E.

CANADIAN
FORENSIC ANALYST

For twenty-eight years, forensic analyst Brian E. Dalrymple worked for the Ontario Provincial Police, making significant contributions to the advancement of technologies used in its Forensic Identification Services program. Most notably, he conducted research that led to the use of lasers to detect fingerprints and other evidence. Dalrymple has since gone on to open his own forensic consulting firm, and has contributed numerous articles to industry magazines and journals as well as provided training to private investigators, attorneys, and police agencies.

In 1972, Dalrymple began working for the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) as a forensic analyst. He excelled at fingerprint and footwear identification, forensic photography, computer enhancement, and body examination. In 1977, Dalrymple collaborated with the Xerox Research Centre to develop a method of using an argon laser to create a luminescent quality in fingerprints. The OPP became the first police agency in the world to regularly use this new technology. While the laser technique did not work on all fingerprints, it was often able to identify prints that could not be detected using conventional means. The technique was also non-destructive, allowing for other fingerprint identification techniques to be used afterwards.

In 1990, after ten years of research, Dalrymple again made an important advancement in technology with the application of computer enhancement technology to evidence images. Through computer enhancement, he found he could detect crucial details of evidence that traditional photographic and analog techniques couldn't reveal. His findings and their subsequent applications again made the OPP leaders in the field of forensic science.

Dalrymple retired from the OPP in 1999 to pursue forensic consulting work. He opened Brian Dalrymple & Associates, a firm that assists in computer enhancement techniques, fingerprint detection, forensic light source technology, and photographic evidence analysis for clients in Canada and the United States. He also has written articles for many industry journals, including the Journal of Forensic Identification and Advanced Imaging. In 1980, Dalrymple won the John A. Dondero Award from the International Association for Identification. He also earned the 1982 Foster Award from the Canadian Identification Society and the 1984 Lewis Marshall Award from the Fingerprint Society of the United Kingdom.