Page 94 - Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)

AFIS SUMMAR Y—HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS 79

determination is made regarding the warrant from the other state or federal Figure 4.4
agency. Side-by-Side Comparison
The increased accuracy of matchers, the improvements of coders, and the
faster and less expensive AFIS systems are contributing to the adaptation of the
“lights out” approach by many agencies. There is no industry definition of lights
out, but it is understood to mean that the approach eliminates human inter-
vention from one or more elements in the identification process. In its most
complete application, lights out eliminates all human intervention from finger
or palm image capture at the livescan station to the electronic delivery of a rap
sheet and mug shot to the inquiring agency.
The transmission to the FBI also may include the individual’s mug shots from
the arrest portfolio, which will be stored in the III section of the FBI’s IAFIS.
The mug shots will also be saved on storage media, forming the basis for a mug
shot system. In some cases, the agency may elect not to store the images but