Kent Police recognize crime-solving successes with King County's automated fingerprint identification system

Kent police this week credited King County's Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) with playing a critical role in solving crimes in 2023.

Kent Police Commander Bava released recent statistics showing that the department is the most frequent user of AFIS services in King County, accounting for 25% of total system usage.

AFIS is a special unit of the King County Sheriff's Office that searches crime scenes for fingerprints. These crime scenes can range from car thefts to homicide investigations, each presenting a unique challenge to obtain usable prints. According to the department, AFIS was able to secure valuable fingerprints in 82% of the cases it was called on, leading to the identification of 1,478 suspects.

In 2023, Kent officers called on AFIS to assist in processing a wide variety of crime scenes, with auto thefts being the most common at 370 crime scenes. Other significant case types included commercial burglaries (132), robberies (62), and auto thefts (33). The successful use of AFIS has been a key factor in Kent's efforts to combat crime and bring offenders to justice.

Here is the table with the breakdown of cases AFIS responded to in Kent in 2023:

The agency noted that while officers can still take fingerprints at crime scenes, the AFIS system is typically used in more complex or serious cases where AFIS expertise can make a significant difference.

“Kudos to our officers and detectives for the aggressive use of this great team and their tools to identify Kent's suspects,” police said.