automated fingerprint identification system
Quick Summary
An Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is a computerized system used by law enforcement to rapidly search through millions of digitized fingerprint records. This technology, which emerged in the 1980s, revolutionized criminal identification by allowing for electronic matching of latent prints found at crime scenes with those in a database.
Dactyloscopy, the science of fingerprint identification, analyzes the unique patterns of ridges and furrows (loops, whorls, arches) and individual characteristics called "minutiae" found on fingers. Fingerprints can be visible, left by substances on the skin, or latent, consisting of natural skin secretions. Latent prints, often invisible, can be revealed through dusting or chemical techniques. AFIS significantly enhances the ability to tie suspects to evidence, though a human analyst still confirms any matches made by the system.12
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