method of searching by hand and eye for an accurate match. The two most important benefits of the AFIS is that it is so very fast and reliable. As noted by Michael J. Fitzpatrick in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, "the speed and accuracy of AFIS in searching and identifying inked fingerprints and latent prints are little less than astounding." Fitzpatrick does not exaggerate in this claim. Indeed, the AFIS can search through its files and obtain the name of a suspect "in less than 15 minutes."
The AFIS is very accurate as well. The computer is able to quickly spot matches that might take many hours to match by the use of human sight alone. In many instances, the computer can match prints which might be virtually impossible to match by sight. Because of its swiftness and accuracy, use of the AFIS results in more criminals being caught than ever before. Unlike in the past, when it might take days or weeks to arrive at a list of suspects, AFIS can identify prints before suspe
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