AFIS, Identification and Photo Lab

The Identification and Photo Lab Unit consists of four teams who handle a wide array of responsibilities.

• The Administrative Team processes requests for concealed pistol licenses, creates identification cards, provides alarm licenses, fingerprints individuals for employment, handles immigration issues, provides business license requirements and distributes fingerprint packets to the State Patrol and FBI.
  
  
• The Tenprint Team takes inked fingerprints from all Seattle arrestees. Inked fingerprints are entered into the AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) in order to establish identity.
  
  
• The Latent Team examines prints lifted from crime scenes (latent prints) and enters them into AFIS for comparison with possible suspects. They are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
  
  
• The Photo Lab Team develops and prints photographs of arrestees, performs crime scene and evidence photography and processes all film submitted by SPD units.

A latent print technician examines evidence lifted from a crime scene for fingerprints.