Eli5: Does hastily swiping off fingerprints from steering wheels, doorhandles, etc. actually prove to be effective?

Question

I see this in various shows and movies, and it always leaves me wondering if it’s actually gonna do them any good in not getting tracked down.

In: 297

Answer 1

A bigger impediment to being caught is that police are not nearly as competent as media makes them out to be. Most violent crimes are solved by a cooperative eyewitness and/or getting a confession from the suspect.