Are your fingerprints on file?

[AceLuby]

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Even if the fully automated lookup system doesn't exist yet, I'm sure it will soon.


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It does. It's just called IAFIS. While it doesn't have everyone who has committed a crime, nor everyone who has to have their fingerprints taken for a civil job it does have 47 million records.

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This is one system that the FBI uses that no other agency can use. Also, it is far far far from perfect. In fact, the searching part of this doesn't even work well. It does store them, you just can't find one given a random fingerprint.

This is still done by hand and is completely subjective. Fingerprint db's and finding a name based off a print is very tough to do programmatically and is a field is computer science and math that is all it's own.

[DrewDevil]

I had to get printed as part of applying for a Texas State Bar law license. I was genuinely irritated by this and inquired about what happened if I refused. I was told that they couldn't force me to get printed but that my refusal would be taken into account by the state bar when they were evaluating my application.

I gave in and let them print me, the bastards.