Page 56 - Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)

HISTOR Y OF AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS 41

Table 2.3
Year Event AFIS Expansion

1995 National Criminal History Improvement Project (NCHIP) begins a
1996 Interpol interpretation of ANSI/NIST standard is adopted.
1997 ANSI/NIST standard updated to include scars, marks, and tattoos.
1997 NAFIS National AFIS is installed in the United Kingdom.
1998 IAI AFIS committee conducts cross-jurisdictional use of AFIS.
1999 IAFIS is operational.
1999 NCIC 2000 is operational.
2000 ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2000 American National Standard for Information Systems—
Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial, and Scar Mark and
Tattoo (SMT) Information includes provision for test records.
2002 Interpol Implementation (ANSI/NIST) of ITL 1–2000.
2004 National Fingerprint-Based Applicant Check Study (N-FACS) is completed.
2005 ANSI/NIST standard is up for renewal.

a
See NCHIP state funding at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/stfunds.htm.

received benefits under different names or under the same name in two dif-
ferent counties, they became able to expand their searches to include fugitive
felons and incarcerated felons. Such systems continue to demonstrate applica-
tions for both civil and criminal uses.
See Table 2.3 for a list of events that occurred during the period of AFIS
expansion.
At the same time as these systems were developing, the FBI recognized the
need to automate its fingerprint records and began the Integrated Automated
Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). The following section was written by
Peter T. Higgins, the former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI in charge of
IAFIS, now of the Higgins-Hermansen Group, LLC. This section provides a
unique and informative glimpse of the forces at work and the application of
standards in the building of IAFIS.

2.7 IAFIS: THE AFIS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD OF
FINGERPRINT AUTOMATION
By 1990, many U.S. states had AFIS systems in place, and major cities were
installing livescan equipment. All of these systems were using proprietary inter-
faces or were printing fingerprint cards to be scanned by the AFIS they were
next to run on. States were starting to see same-day responses from AFIS
searches, at least in the major cities, such as Chicago. The situation at the
FBI, however, was not so rosy. Their investments in automation were being
overwhelmed by the transaction rates, and the forecast was for more of the
same.