Arizona Biometrics Information System
The Arizona Biometric Information System (ABIS) is a storage, search, and retrieval system for fingerprints, palm prints, irises, mug photos, and tattoo images obtained from arrests, deceased subjects, registered sex offenders, Arizona Department of Corrections inmates, and individuals seeking noncriminal justice background checks. The ABIS is a high-speed, high-capacity image processing system that enhances the ability of latent fingerprint examiners to search and identify crime scene evidence, and enables ten examiners to search fingerprints against an ever-increasing pool of fingerprint records.
Other states with comparable systems to the ABIS have and continue to replace outdated manual methods of fingerprint classification employed by law enforcement agencies over the past century.
The ABIS utilizes specialized software and powerful computer hardware to create unique mathematical ‘maps’ (algorithms) based on relationships among the characteristics of the finger or palm friction ridge skin structures. The system rapidly extracts information from the fingerprint to determine the pattern type, minutiae points, and the image's axis. The use of mathematical algorithms enables a fingerprint to be compared with millions of file prints within a matter of seconds.