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An Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is effectively a storage, search and retrieval system for finger and palm print electronic images and demographic data. AFIS is a high speed, high capacity image processing system that enhances the ability of the latent fingerprint examiners to search and identify crime scene evidence against ever increasing pools of fingerprint records

AFIS systems have and continue to replace outdated manual methods of fingerprint classification employed by law enforcement agencies over the past century

AFIS systems utilize specialized software and powerful computer hardware configurations to create unique mathematical' maps’ (algorithms) based upon relationships between the characteristics present within the finger or palm friction ridge skin structures. Modern AFIS systems rapidly extract information from the fingerprint to establish the pattern type, minutiae points and the axis of the image. The use of mathematical algorithms enables a fingerprint to be compared with millions of file prints within a matter of seconds.

The latest AFIS systems may also incorporate palm print matching capabilities. In the majority of operating systems palm print images are divided up into a number of small segments so that the software can effectively and efficiently code, store and search the palm data within a reasonable time frame (similar size to a rolled fingerprint impression).

AFIS software utilize the impressions obtained from the rolled index fingers or thumbs to search and ‘match’ against existing tenprint records within the database. This matching process is used in proving identity in the recording of criminal convictions (criminal history).

The AFIS system may use the rolled impressions or a combination of the rolled and flat impressions of all fingers to compare against the unsolved crime latent database. This process is used when comparing new arrest finger and palm images against the unsolved crime latent database or when comparing new crime scene latent evidence against the existing arrest records within the tenprint database.

Latent images can be scanned from physical ‘lifts’, negatives, photographs or uploaded from digital cameras, all in high quality detail (up to 1000Dpi). Tenprint images can also be captured using Livescan technology

When searching an unknown print against the AFIS database, the system provides a "candidate list" of the closest matching fingerprint images from the tenprint database. The fingerprint examiner verifies the results and indicates whether an identification has been made against any one of the nominated candidates While the list provided by the AFIS is given in order of decreasing match value (as calculated by the search algorithm), the final identification, as established by the fingerprint expert, may not necessarily be among the first few candidates on the list. Despite the progress made in computer hardware and software, AFIS technology has not yet eliminated the need for human verification of AFIS match results