A new Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and Fingerprint Comparison Software (FCS) package will boost the Samoa Police forensic services.
The equipment was made available through the Samoa Australia Police Partnership (SAPP).
The AFIS system, which is capable of storing up to 50,000 records, enables investigators to efficiently search and compare fingerprints from a database, aiding in the identification of known or unknown suspects.
The new upgrade to the Forensic services is a critical step forward in the Samoa Police’s efforts to rebuild and upgrade forensic capabilities with Police Commissioner Auapa’au Logoitino Filipo saying he is pleased with the progress made so far in the Forensics Renewal Project in partnership with the AFP through SAPP.
The package comes with software licensing, backup, and support for three years.
The Forensics Unit will also receive two computers with ultra-high resolution monitors, a high resolution digital scanner
and an ultra-high definition document camera.
The AFIS and FCS packages were installed last week.
Australian fingerprint expert John Moloney, was on-site to conduct the installation and provide training to Samoa Police Forensic members.
The training will equip the Forensic Unit with the necessary skills to select and scan usable hardcopy fingerprint forms, produce jpeg image files, download historical and usable stored fingerprint records, convert them to searchable files in the database, and provide impression enhancement for digital capture and presentation for court proceedings and digital database management.
The total cost of the AFIS and FCS package is valued at $65,000AUD.
Photo credit Samoa Police Caption: John Moloney demonstrates the fingerprint system.