Page 154 - Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)

CURRENT ISSUES 139

and personnel. Finally, unlike forensic applications, civil applications do not
need to store entire images, only the digital representations and the template.
See Table 6.1 for a summary of the major differences between forensic and civil
AFIS applications.
The use of AFIS technology in civil applications, particularly public benefits
programs, has not been without criticism. Anti-fingerprinting advocacy groups
claim that requiring that individuals be fingerprinted to receive benefits to
which they are lawfully entitled amounts to coercion and intimidation. They
also claim that the idea of being fingerprinted, even if it means rolling only one
or two fingers, has a chilling effect that will prevent eligible people from par-
ticipating. Advocates of fingerprinting counter that the use of AFIS technology
does not intimidate eligible persons, and it has helped to eliminate fraud.
Whereas in the past a person may have registered for public benefits in one
county, then registered for the same benefits in another county (either under
the same or different name), such duplication has now been virtually elimi-
nated. Counties and states claim to have saved millions of public dollars
through the registration process. Once enrolled, the images are kept on a
statewide database. Registration in any county constitutes enrollment onto the
database. Another advantage of AFIS in public benefits applications is the
reduction of administrative error. It is not difficult to prove that a person who
claims eligibility for benefits has not been enrolled.
There are a growing number of civil applications that are using AFIS tech-
nology in innovative ways. For example, a school district in Pennsylvania exper-
imented with using AFIS for a school lunch program. In the pilot program, all
students were required to enroll one finger image, using a single-finger scanner
like the one shown in Figure 6.5, and were given a personal identification
number (PIN). Those students who paid for their lunch would deposit the
money into their own account and use it to pay for their lunch purchases. Those

Table 6.1
Forensic Civil Comparison of Forensic
and Civil AFIS
Applications
Identification Verification
One-to-many (1:N) searches One-to-one (1:1) searches
Open search Closed search
Candidate list Match or no match
Linked to CCH No AFIS history file
Connect to other AFIS Stand alone
Capture 10 images Capture one or two images
Latent print search No other functionality
Store image, template Store template only
Complex Relatively simple
24/7 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.