The Fingerprint Unit at INTERPOL is a team of seven persons.  This consists of the Head of Unit, 2 fingerprint examiners primarily responsible for processing crime scene marks and 4 Fingerprint Technicians principally responsible for processing the fingerprint tenprint forms.

Fingerprint data either tenprint forms or crime scene marks is received into the Fingerprint Unit from the member countries of INTERPOL.  The Fingerprint Unit uses an AFIS which was developed and is maintained by SAGEM.  Presently the database contains 90000 fingerprint records and 1600 crime scene marks.

Law enforcement officers can take fingerprints using an electronic device or can take them manually using ink and paper then use a special scanner to save the data electronically in the appropriate format. They then submit the data to INTERPOL’s General Secretariat to be uploaded to the database. Records are saved and exchanged in the format set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Authorized users in member countries can view, submit and cross-check records using I-24/7, INTERPOL’s secure global police communications network.

The Fingerprints Unit at INTERPOL actively encourages member countries to use the database as extensively as possible, and increase the number of relevant fingerprints in the system.  It is highly recommended that all fingerprints of foreign nationals arrested and unsolved crime scene marks are submitted to the Fingerprint Unit.