What we do and how it works
Stage 1 - AFR Suite
A tenprint form is received from the police at the AFR suite, in both electronic and hard copy.
The Tenprint Identification Officer (TIO) checks the form and marks the pattern code for those prints on the form, i.e. whorls, loops or arches. The skill of the TIO is identifying suspects held in custodyagainst those held on the AFR system. This is referred to as tenprint to tenprint comparison.
If the search on the AFR system reveals a match, this can help confirm the identification of the suspect being held by the police. If no match is found, the TIO will create a new record for the suspect on the system.
Stage 2 - Tenprint Section
The hard copy of the tenprint form is then passed to the Tenprint Section for filing.
The Tenprint section is responsible for maintaining the National Fingerprint Collection. The National Fingerprint Collection consists of fingerprint impressions from all persons convicted of a criminal offence in Scotland and currently holds in excess of 350,000 records.
The Tenprint section provides clerical and admin support to the service and duties include filing and updating the Tenprint forms while also weeding the collection to ensure all forms are being legally held.
Stage 3 - Fingerprint Hall
When a case arrives at the bureau, it is booked into the office management system (OMS) and sent to the relevant team in the fingerprint hall for checks.
There are various teams within the bureau which deal with different types of crime:
- Serious crime - includes cases of murder and rape.
- Cheque, document fraud, and drugs crimes
- Volume crime - includes cases of car theft and burglary etc
The case can contain scene of crime (SOC) marks, and may include elimination fingerprints and/or suspect information.