AFIS
Definition
Automated Fingerprint Identification System: a digital database and search engine that encodes friction ridge minutiae from ten-print cards and latent impressions, returning ranked candidate lists for human examiner review.
- Full form
- Automated Fingerprint Identification System
- Input
- Ten-print cards, latent impressions
- Encoding basis
- Friction ridge minutiae
- Output
- Ranked candidate list for examiner review
Common questions
Does AFIS make the final identification decision on its own?+
No, it returns a ranked list of candidates by algorithmic similarity score, and a qualified human examiner still performs the comparison and reaches the identification conclusion under the ACE-V method.
What is the practical difference between a ten-print search and a latent search in AFIS?+
A ten-print search compares a full, clear set of known prints against the database, while a latent search works from a partial, often degraded crime-scene impression, generally returning a lower-confidence candidate list needing more examiner scrutiny.
Related terms
- ACE-V
- Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, Verification: the four-stage method for latent print examination used by accredited forensic fingerprint laboratories. Analysis examines the latent in...
- Biometrics
- The measurement and statistical analysis of biological characteristics for identity verification or identification; forensic modalities include fingerprint, palm print, face, iris, voice,...
- ENFSI FWG
- ENFSI Fingerprint Working Group: the inter-laboratory coordination body within the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes that harmonises fingerprint examination methodology, runs...
- Forensic Voice Comparison
- The examination of two or more voice recordings to assess whether they share a common speaker source, using auditory-acoustic analysis and/or automatic...
- Galton Features
- The set of observable ridge events catalogued by Francis Galton in his 1892 monograph, including ridge endings, bifurcations, and enclosed formations. The...
- Henry Classification System
- The fingerprint filing and retrieval system developed by Edward Henry with Haque and Bose in Bengal in the 1890s and adopted by...
- Latent Print
- An invisible or barely visible impression of friction ridge skin deposited on a surface by eccrine sweat and sebum, requiring a development...
- NAFIS
- National Automated Fingerprint Identification System: India's centralised fingerprint database operated by the NCRB, launched 2022, designed to aggregate state police and CFSL...
- NGI
- Next Generation Identification: the FBI's AFIS system launched 2014, successor to IAFIS; holds over 160 million ten-print criminal records plus palm prints,...