The fingerprint section processes and analyzes various items for fingerprint evidence. Several different chemical processing procedures are used by the examiners to recover latent (invisible to the naked eye) fingerprints from items of evidence. When latent prints are recovered from evidence they are compared with the known fingerprints of the person or persons associated with the crime. This section maintains a fingerprint file which contains the fingerprints of arrested individuals. The fingerprint information is then computerized in the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System, also known as AFIS. AFIS allows a fingerprint to be entered and searched by points of identification within the finger. This system allows any fingerprint left at the scene of a crime to be searched and identified prior to or during an investigation by detectives.