Page 142 - Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)

CURRENT ISSUES 127

The development of an additional database of only two fingers does not
support the development of a hierarchy of AFIS searches in which local law
enforcement agencies can search a tenprint record against the local, state, and
federal databases.

6.1.2.3 Misunderstanding the System
Another weakness of AFIS systems is the possibility of misunderstanding of its
functionality. AFIS systems function only as well as they are designed, imple-
mented, and maintained. These systems are incredibly precise, and the data-
bases can be searched in seconds, but their capabilities cannot be fully utilized
if the AFIS administrators are not completely familiar with the system.
For example, managers and administrators may become upset because a hit
was not made on their system even though a record existed for the subject. It
is even more politically embarrassing when an identification is made on another
system. The problem may not be with the AFIS system, however, but with the
booking person who took the original tenprint images. The need to stress
the importance of good image capture may lie beyond the span of control of
the AFIS administrators, but the function is critical to the process.
Managers must know their system’s capabilities and limitations and be advo-
cates for its improvement. They must educate others, including those respon-
sible for other components of AFIS, just how much AFIS relies on all the
components of the identification process in order to make successful identifi-
cations. The media cannot be enlisted as the primary source of information
about the workings of AFIS.
The decision to build or modify an AFIS system often involves trade-offs, and
managers must be able to determine which trade-offs they are willing to make
to get the best system for their needs at a price they can afford. The cost of cap-
turing mug shots, for example, may prohibit the capture of palm prints. Like-
wise, faster retrieval may be considered more valuable than more storage of
multiple sets of finger images. Managers must also keep in mind that the addi-
tion of a new feature, such as the ability to search palm images as part of a
latent print process, may yield poorer-than-anticipated results because the cor-
responding increase in personnel needed was never considered.

6.1.2.4 Maintenance
New systems typically function as expected. The equipment is new; the software
is state of the art, and all the moving parts work as designed. However, after a
few hundred cycles, the equipment may begin to show signs of use. Drive motors
in livescan machines may start to work just a little more slowly, or a computer
microchip may fail. For example, an AFIS system that has an accuracy rate of
99.97% when new may exhibit some degradation in accuracy and throughput