Page 21 - Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)

6 AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS

records on the FBI database, yet it normally takes less than 2 hours, the same
amount of time required to watch two episodes of JAG or the time it takes to
read this book, to get the results. In that short time, the subject’s images can
be compared with millions of records at the state and federal level with sur-
prising accuracy and speed.
It also takes about 2 hours for a latent print examiner to digitally capture the
latent finger image found at a crime scene. By using photographic techniques
and software, the latent print image can be made to appear more distinct as
the image background is muted. AFIS coders extract the image characteristics
from the print, such as location of ridge endings, bifurcations, and direction
of ridge flow, and search all or any part of a criminal database. Databases con-
taining millions of image records can be completely searched within minutes.
This was not possible just a few years ago.
Not all AFIS systems are identical. Some large metropolitan areas have their
own independent AFIS system that may or may not directly connect to the state
identification bureau. The databases may be mutually exclusive or may overlap.
The state AFIS system may come from a different vendor than a metropolitan
area’s AFIS, and one vendor’s software may not seamlessly interact with
another’s. For example, some systems store images from the two index fingers,
some use the two thumbs, and others use a combination.
In addition, some AFIS systems provide only identification information and
are not connected to a computerized criminal history file. And not all AFIS
systems operate on a round-the-clock schedule. Data entered into the database
may not be immediately available if the database is updated only once a day.
Yet in spite of these differences, the various AFIS systems have a great amount
of commonality. They require the same maintenance that other computer
systems require, and are subject to the same threats to security and database
corruption that other information systems share.
Today, more image information, such as palm images and mug shots, are
being captured and stored on AFIS systems. A single palm image may have as
much ridge detail as that found in all ten fingers. Latent palm prints are esti-
mated to be found at 30% of all crime scenes. Mug shots are used in photo
arrays of suspects, and also help visually identify persons who are wanted. These
are relatively new capacities made possible by better and less expensive data
storage and transmission. In addition, more categories of people, such as health
care workers, are being fingerprinted. These new information sources and fin-
gerprintable categories lead to more extensive data-processing requirements,
and to the increased responsibility of AFIS managers and technicians, who are
handling increasingly larger and more complex systems. While not everyone in
the United States is enrolled in a fingerprint-based identification system, images
from an inquiry can be compared against perhaps over 50 million records. With