Fingerprints and AFIS

Fingerprinting or dactyloscopy (derived from Greek “daktylos” meaning “finger”
and “skopein” meaning “to examine” ), is a well-known technique for identifying a person. The technique benefits from the fact that the papillary lines on hands and fingers are unique to everybody. This technique has been used for police purposes since the middle of the 19th century.

In Switzerland, the automated fingerprint identification system, AFIS, has been in use since 1984. AFIS allows for the search of ten-finger traces and traces secured on a crime scene (including traces from the ball of the thumbs and the side of the hands). Two- or ten finger examination can be accomplished within a few minutes and enables the unequivocable identification of a person.