Learning to read and interpret tattoos

Tattooing has been a facet of many civilizations and cultures for millennia with a recent resurgence in popularity in many Western countries. The reasons for tattooing are diverse ranging from simple decorative designs to enforced tattooing of concentration camp inmates. In a forensic context tattoos are frequently observed and may play a role in some cases of identification, even after decomposition, incineration or dismemberment. More broadly however, tattoos can provide significant information on a decedent’s name and age, country or region of origin, religion, names of family members and friends, pet ownership, political affiliations, sporting and recreational activities, military service, gang memberships, drug usage and medical data. Thus, careful reading of tattoos at the time of post mortem examination can sometimes be a very productive exercise delivering background material on a decedent that may not have been provided in police reports.