Cold-Case Hit
Definition
An AFIS identification event where a crime scene latent previously returned as no identification (NI) matches against a ten-print record enrolled into the database subsequent to the original search. Cold-case hits are a routine output of AFIS systems that retain unsolved marks for periodic re-search.
- System
- AFIS
- Trigger
- Later ten-print enrollment matching a stored unsolved latent
- Prior status
- Originally returned no identification (NI)
- Nature
- Routine output of periodic re-search
Common questions
Why does a latent that returned NI get searched again later?+
AFIS databases enroll new ten-print records continuously as people are arrested or booked elsewhere, so a latent with no match today can match a record added months or years later, which is why unsolved latents are retained and periodically re-run against the growing database.
Does a cold-case hit require any additional verification before use as evidence?+
Yes, the same as any other AFIS candidate match: a qualified fingerprint examiner must perform an independent manual comparison and verification of the candidate against the latent before it can be reported as an identification, since the automated search only returns candidates for human review.
Related terms
- AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System)
- An automated system that compares a fingerprint query (typically a latent print from a crime scene) against a reference database to identify...
- Bozorth3
- The NIST open-source fingerprint minutiae matching algorithm distributed as part of the NIST NBIS toolkit. Rotation- and translation-invariant. Serves as the reference...
- FBI NGI (Next Generation Identification)
- The FBI's biometric repository system, fully operational from 2015, replacing IAFIS. Contains over 175 million ten-print records, 30 million palmprint records, and...
- I-24/7
- Interpol's secure global police communications network connecting 196 member countries. Used by national fingerprint bureaus to submit searches against and receive candidates...
- IDENT1
- The UK national fingerprint database operated by the Home Office and managed by Idemia. Holds approximately 10 million ten-print records and a...
- NAFIS (National Automated Fingerprint Identification System, India)
- The NCRB-operated national fingerprint database deployed from 2022, integrating criminal fingerprint records across all 28 state FSLs, 5 CFSLs, and state police...
- NIST ELFT-EFS (2012)
- The NIST Evaluation of Latent Fingerprint Technologies: Extended Feature Sets, a large-scale evaluation of both automated AFIS algorithms and human examiner performance....
- Similarity Score
- The numerical output of an AFIS matching algorithm indicating the degree of minutiae correspondence between a query and a candidate. Higher scores...
- UIDAI Aadhaar Biometric Repository
- The UIDAI's central biometric store containing ten-print and iris records for over 1.37 billion enrolled individuals under the Aadhaar Act 2016. Operates...