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Some search all tenprint records, with the notion that although the record and
images already exist in the database, the newer images may differ slightly in
terms of clarity, distortion, number of minutiae, etc. These new images may
produce a minutiae match where none existed before.

4.2.4 LATENT/LATENT SEARCH

If no identification is made on the LT/TP searches, the latent print examiner
still has other search options available. The latent print examiner could initi-
ate a new search in which the unknown latent print is searched against a data-
base of unknown latent prints. Also referred to as unsolved to unsolved
searches, the latent/latent (LT/LT) searches provide an opportunity to deter-
mine if crimes are being committed by the same person, enough if the person
remains unidentified.
Latent print examiners can initiate a LT/LT search, view the candidates and
determine if one or more of the candidates matches the searched latent print.
If there is a match, the examiner can notify the inquiring agency that another
agency, or investigator within the same agency, is working on a case in which
matching latent prints were found. This collaboration can ultimately lead to an
identification and arrest.

4.3 WHY AFIS SYSTEMS WORK

The question of why AFIS systems work can be answered in several ways. They
work because of the interaction of information systems, identification systems
and subsystems, communication linkages, etc. They also work because of the
dedication of agency administrators, researchers, programmers, and vendors,
and because of the need for increased speed on information and the infusion
of millions of dollars in federal funds.
Whereas a mailed fingerprint card was considered the fastest form of iden-
tification just a few years ago, now dedicated high-speed communication lines
link computers to computers and confirm (or deny) identifications within
minutes. The stereotypic rolling of an inked finger onto a tenprint card has
been replaced with digital capture devices (livescan; see Fig. 4.6) that eliminate
ink, eliminate paper, add mug shots and palm prints, and reduce errors.
Concurrent advances of latent (crime scene) identification have led to the
arrest of many criminals who in the past would never have been identified.
AFIS systems are attractive to agency managers because much of the clerical
work previously performed, such as retrieving and classifying fingerprint cards,
storing them in file cabinets, and looking for a misplaced or misfiled card, has