Forensic Identification Services
AFIS
The Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Section is responsible
for maintaining and operating a computerized fingerprint search and storage
system. The system used at FIS is Omnitrak provided by Motorola. The system
automates the capture, search and storage of both crime scene and arrestee
fingerprints and palm prints.
Fingerprints of charged persons are captured using a Livescan system which
uses a laser scanning device that replaces ink. These scanned fingerprints
are then electronically sent from police stations in Toronto to FIS and then
on to the RCMP after descriptors and mugshots are merged from the RICI system.
Livescan is a real-time identification system (RTID) allowing for the quick
examination of fingerprints taken from arrested persons and compared to the
known offender database with results returned to the police station printing
the person within 5 minutes.
The Toronto Police were the first agency in Canada to go to real time fingerprinting
in 2005. The accompanying palm database was also the first established in Canada
allowing palms to be searched which has proved very successful as 30% of crime
scene prints are palms.
The Section is staffed by civilian Fingerprint Technicians who, when fully
trained, are capable of presenting expert fingerprint identification evidence
in a court of law. The fingerprints (and palm prints) of every person charged
with an indictable offence by the Toronto Police Service are taken under the
authority of the Identification of Criminals Act. These records form an extensive
database which allows FIS to provide the following:
- Prompt searching of fingerprints of arrested persons to determine whether
or not the person has any previous record with the Toronto Police Service
or any other police agency in Canada. The results of such a search may reveal
that the person has falsely identified him/herself to the police.
- Searching of fingerprints taken from unknown deceased persons.
- Search of latent finger/palm prints found at the scene of a crime. These
are searched against similar arrestee prints and unsolved crime scene prints.
Crime scene prints which are not identified are stored on the database
and are automatically compared to every new set of arrestee prints entered
into the system.
Beyond local and national searching capabilities, members can also initiate
international fingerprint searches via the RCMP and Interpol, often resulting
in arrested persons being identified as known in foreign countries.
Members of the AFIS section also manually compare crime scene fingerprints
with those of suspects submitted by the investigative units and squads.
Members of the Section made 1,736 crime scene identifications in 2006. To
date, there are over 122,000 crime scene prints and over 584,000 arrestee ten-print
records (that's over 5,840,000 single fingerprints) in the AFIS database.
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