Countywide officials back renewal of levy for crime-fighting Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)

Old-fashioned fingerprint card
Creative Commons

Voters would be asked to keep the successful Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) in operation for another six years, under a proposal to place a property-tax levy renewal on the November general election ballot.

“As a regional crime-fighting tool, AFIS is our ‘CSI-King County,’ bringing new technology to the job of cracking cases and catching criminals,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine, who sent the proposal to the Metropolitan King County Council. “The AFIS program is one that historically stays under budget, and this new proposal creates $6.75 million of new efficiencies over the life of the levy.”

The AFIS program provides criminal fingerprint identification services to police agencies within the County. This regional approach allows the people of King County to invest in technology and services for their local law enforcement agencies, at a minimal cost to the individual taxpayer.

Voters first approved the AFIS levy in 1986, and since then they have renewed the levy four times, each time with overwhelming community support. The current six-year levy period expires in December.

The proposed renewal levy rate is 5.92 cents per thousand of assessed valuation for the next six-year period of 2013 to 2018 – about $20.72 per year for the owner of a $350,000 home. If approved by voters, the measure would raise $118.9 million to maintain the current level of services and support current technology over the six-year period.

“In my previous position as Kent’s Police Chief and now as King County’s Sheriff, I have seen firsthand the value of the AFIS technology in identifying criminals and helping crack cases that may otherwise never have been solved,” said King County Sheriff Steve Strachan. “The AFIS program is a model for the efficiency of regional services and shared resources, and I encourage the Council to support this measure.”

The legislation sent to the Council on May 24 would ask voters to continue the funding of current services, including the new palmprint-matching AFIS installed in 2011. The maintenance levy would also replace an aging and inadequate regional processing lab and continue technology improvements started in the current levy cycle, such as fingerprinting in the courts and remote fingerprinting in the field by officers.

The AFIS program historically stays under budget, with savings returned to King County taxpayers through reduced assessments. 

“Our criminal fingerprint identification system is critical to promoting public safety in our region, and this measure will help make sure our law enforcement officials have the tools they need,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, chair of the Council’s Government Accountability, Oversight, and Financial Performance Committee.

Local law enforcement agencies throughout the region have added their endorsement of the current proposal: