I have a question. My brother broke into our parents house about a year ago. (At the time, we didnt know who did it) The police came and took fingerprints from the house, however, they never fingerprinted any of us.

He finally came forward and confessed to us that he did it.....now my question....

He has been offered a job that requires him to be fingerprinted. If he sends off his fingerprints, will it peg him as the person that robbed our house??? And if it does, what happens? Will the police be notified and if so, how de we inform them of this.

Thanks,
Julie

If your brother has no existing crimininal record, the fingerprinting for the job application should not return any results.

Despite the impression given by TV crime dramas, crime scene fingerprints are not routinely entered into the AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) database unless the crime was one involving grave injuries (murders, rapes,major assaults.)or major thefts/property damage (a jewelry store or bank robbery, arson, bombings, etc.) so the fingerprints taken from the break in at your parents home are probably gathering dust in a file waiting to be compared to a suspect, if one should ever be identified... which appears unlikely in this case because, unless I've read this wrong, your family has elected to forgive your brother for his actions and is not pressing charges.

Besides that even if he HAD been printed at the time, chances are that without a reason to suspect your brother, his prints in your parents' home would, in all probability, have been ignored as being expected.

I hope that he's dealt with whatever troubles led him to commit the break in in the first place and that he's decided to walk a straighter road.

As MrsS has said, your brother's fingerprints would not be out of place in your parents' house. The police may have found his prints, your prints, your parents' prints and neighbors prints in the house as well.

Even if he gets fingerprinted, as long as you guys don't press charges, everything will be ok.

Regardless of the fact that he broke into the house, any competent lawyer will be able to explain it all away. I wouldn't worry too much about your brother, AFIS is mostly used on serious cases. I.E. murders, rapes, and very serious assaults. Don't worry about it....