Studying fingerprints in his office during the 1980s, Andover Officer Kevin Burke noticed a house-break suspect had a unique index finger pattern. As he processed a crime scene at a West Andover house later that day, he found that very same pattern left on the exterior of a home — two stories off the ground.
Hanging out of a second-story window, Burke knew he had solved the case right there.
Considered an expert in his field, Burke's reputation has only grown since then.
Burke has used fingerprint analysis to identify thousands of suspects. After more than three decades of police work, he's helped solve roughly 450 housebreaks, 250 vehicle theft cases and several attempted murders, he estimates.
In May, Burke received a national award from the FBI in recognition of his career accomplishments.
When it comes to bank robberies, Burke's record is nearly perfect, having used fingerprints left behind at crime scenes to identify suspects in 33 out of the 34 cases he's been involved with across Essex and Middlesex counties.
Burke assisted in the investigation of the latest bank robbery in town, which took place April 24 at Danversbank on Central Street. After processing the scene, Burke matched a palm print taken from the teller's counter to 28-year-old Peabody resident Jeffrey Monico, who later confessed to the crime.
Monico, now charged with armed robbery, was one of two men arrested in early May who are considered to be suspects in connection with numerous area bank robberies, Andover Police Lt. James Hashem said.
"Both of them are responsible for a number of break-ins in the North Shore area," said Hashem. "Fingerprinting didn't assist in the apprehension but it will assist in the prosecution."
Burke is a member of a panel developing national standards for fingerprint handling, known as the Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology.
Along with his work in conjunction with the working group and the International Association for Identification, Burke said receiving the Assistant Director's Award from the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division has been one of his greatest career accomplishments. Burke was one of 10 people nationwide to receive the award in 2008.
"Kevin's always had an interest in and excelled in the field of fingerprinting," Hashem said. "He's been an asset to us for a number of years in that field as a fingerprint examiner and a crime-scene technician."
A graduate of Andover High School (Class of 1968) and Northeastern University, it was in college as an intern with the Lawrence Police Department that Burke made his first positive fingerprint identification.
Burke normally spent his time as a student alphabetizing records for the department. But after a local Elks Lodge was broken into in the early 1970s, Burke was called to the scene and used powder and a brush to collect evidence.
Burke took a print found on a juice bottle left at the bar. After developing a suspect list, police later charged a Lawrence man for the break-in with the assistance of the print Burke obtained at the Elks Lodge.
"That's when juice came in glass bottles," Burke said. "I was pretty excited about that."
After becoming a reserve officer in North Reading a week after his 21st birthday, Burke started working in Andover as a public safety dispatcher before becoming a full-time patrolman.
Burke said he began working regularly with fingerprinting in the early 1980s at the suggestion of the department's head of the detectives.
"From there it's history, one case after the other, and it's still going on," Burke said. "I think it's great. It's one big puzzle for me."
