The use of fingerprint data is a critical element in the criminal investigation process, whether the data is collected at a crime scene, from a suspect or from a convicted offender.
In 1986 Australia led the world by establishing the first National Automated Fingerprint Identification System, known as NAFIS. By 2000, that system had run out of capacity, and had been eclipsed by new technologies used by police services in Europe, the United States and New Zealand.
CrimTrac's NAFIS takes Australia's fingerprint technology into the twenty-first century.
When police took a suspect's fingerprints, they used the same technique that their counterparts used at the start of the twentieth century - printer's ink, a roller and a slab. This process was time-consuming and could result in poor data quality, particularly if the person concerned was unwilling to cooperate with the police officer taking the prints.
Having taken a charged person's fingerprints, police sent the fingerprint card to their Fingerprint Bureau. The prints were then scanned into the old NAFIS computer and searched against the records on the national database. If NAFIS found a 'match', a fingerprint expert then verified the identification. The relevant police officer was then notified of the match, along with the courts, where relevant.
If a charged person used an alias, he or she may have been released from custody before the police were able to complete a search on NAFIS for a match. If they absconded before a computer match confirmed their true identity, then police were faced with the task of trying to relocate them. And some fingerprint records collected using the old ink and roller method were substandard, which could hinder a positive match.
The process for collecting and analysing crime scene fingerprints was also unwieldy and time-consuming. The fingerprint officer examined the scene for fingerprints using various powders/chemicals and photographed those suitable for identification, before taking the film to the laboratory for development. The developed fingerprint photographs were then sent to the Fingerprint Bureau, where they were processed and scanned into the old NAFIS computer to be searched against the existing records for a possible match.
Australia's fingerprint technology has been completely updated to meet the demands of the twenty-first century with the introduction of the new NAFIS , which provides fast, powerful matching capabilities for the increasing numbers of Australian fingerprint records.
The NAFIS adopts more precise technical standards, including the international fingerprint identification standard 'grey scale'. Grey scale contains 256 shades of grey from black through to white.The fingerprint system accepts fingerprints taken by a range of methods, including the latest 'livescan' technology. Livescan's inkless process uses electronic and laser technology to scan fingers and palms from a flat glass pad to produce clear, undistorted records. This process enables police officers to enter the fingerprint records into NAFIS electronically for an immediate search against the national database.
Workstations for the system are based in nearly 40 locations throughout Australia, connected to a central database of 4.02 million "ten print" records and 571,200 prints from unsolved crime scenes. (Each ten print record consists of ten fingerprints and two palm prints.) Police are able to use each of the NAFIS workstations to scan fingerprints from fingerprint cards, upload digital fingerprint images, and assess and verify matches made by the system.
Crime scene officers also gain benefits from the new technology. They are able to use digital cameras for collecting fingerprints, providing faster and more accurate data collection and matching.
The system captures palm prints as well as fingerprints. Palm prints make up approximately twenty per cent of print evidence gathered at crime scenes. The new NAFIS includes 10.9 million palm prints - the largest automated collection of palm prints in the world. The NAFIS complies with the ANSI/NIST international standard for fingerprint data exchange, making it easy for Australian police services to provide fingerprint records to overseas police forces such as Interpol or the FBI, when necessary.
The system design incorporates stringent data and communications security measures.
For almost a century, fingerprints have been one of the most powerful investigative tools available to Australian police services. With CrimTrac's NAFIS , police are able to make even greater use of fingerprint and palm print evidence in the fight against crime. Police will be able to identify more offenders more quickly. As they do so, they will be able to investigate and solve more crimes, making Australia a safer place to live.