The Seattle Police Department’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System Units, also known as AFIS Units, recently helped to identify the suspect in an SPD Internet Crimes Against Children Unit investigation where binders of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) were discovered in dumpsters in Queen Anne. The dozens of highly-skilled people working across three different units harness the power of forensic science to help investigators piece cases together every day.
Dawn Quaale, a manager for AFIS Operations Forensic Support Services, says members of the Administrative Unit, ID technicians and those working in the Latent Print Unit, are responsible for anything fingerprint-related as well as all that happens within the identification system. There are about 36 people working across these units at SPD.
She says, for example, the Latent Print Unit responds to crime scenes, processes evidence, compares latent prints and provides analysis. Members of the unit also help with expert witness testimony and training for officers on friction ridge science and how to pull proper lifts of prints. Quaale explains, AFIS Units are much-needed.
“I think last year we had about 47 crime scene responses. If we consider vehicle processing also a crime scene response, because that happens outside of our laboratory, that would bring our response number into the hundreds. We are doing multiple cars weekly, almost daily. So we are very busy, especially with vehicles being used in different criminal activities and such,” she said.
Quaale is proud of the work being done. She feels they’ve oftentimes helped to solve crimes.
“We have a great impact. There’s times where our examiners provided the only lead in the case. So, we also free up resources in time for law enforcement officers at a time when they’re already understaffed and they have a plethora of other responsibilities,” she said. “So having highly-trained and educated examiners to support them in their investigation is really important. They know where to look, how to use various chemicals and technology, to preserve ridge detail. And they’re also expert analysts.”
A recent Seattle Police Department ICAC Unit and Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation in March made headlines after more than a dozen binders containing CSAM were discovered by two unhoused people looking inside a dumpster in the 200 block of Queen Anne Avenue North. The pair immediately called 911 to get in touch with police and to show officers where they’d found the items.
A Latent Print examiner processed evidence found at the scene and made an identification, which in turn, helped lead to the arrest of a 63-year-old man.
“One of our latent print examiners wound up taking these binders and processing them for latent prints. There were binders and there were several images of CSAM material inside these binders, kind of in plastic sleeves. This examiner spent about 20 hours processing the evidence and preserving the ridge detail and then another few hours doing the analysis and the suspect was identified. There was about 40 lift cards over a couple of binders she was able to preserve. So, definitely a great ID,” Quaale said.
During an interview, the suspect admitted he’d recently thrown away the CSAM in the dumpsters near his apartment. He told Seattle police that prior to 1983, he’d molested approximately 50 children in another state dating back to when he was a teenager. He said he’d only stopped when he was reported and arrested in 1983 and claimed he had not molested any other children since then. The ICAC Unit continues to search for possible victims.
AFIS came to the Seattle Police Department in 1986, Quaale said.
“The technology in preserving and finding ridge detail has really come a long way, but the overall science of analysis has stayed pretty similar. There’s been a few methodologies used throughout history. But the details remain the same. We compare like details between known and unknown prints. There are minutia, certain details and identifiers in a fingerprint that are unique to an individual,” she said. “Education and training are evolving quite a bit in the shared knowledge and experience within the latent print community and the forensic science community. This has really made an impact on the level of professionalism and the standards, which is great. Ethics, trust, and an impartiality are extremely important in the forensic world.”
Looking to the future, Quaale sees technology improving every aspect of this work.
“We went from basically comparing fingerprints, like with just a pointer and a magnifier and charting those really minute details from paper to paper. We now have highly-detailed scanners where we can scan in a lift card and then we can use the known prints from the AFIS database to perform analysis in like a digital software program, like Photoshop where we can use digital markers and charting, and then we can preserve every detail of our analysis, of the minutia we’re marking and why we feel like this is the correct decision. So it’s really come a long way,” she said.
She also believes as fingerprint databases grow, crimes could be solved even faster.
“You know, for particular cases, such as violent crimes and homicides, those records aren’t purged. So whenever there’s a crime happening, we have a larger database to work off of,” Quaale said.
No matter the case, there is a constant commitment to doing the job ethically and accurately, Quaale said, as she reflected on the variety of investigations where AFIS Units serve an important purpose. Members of these units could be involved in processing scenes following property crimes, homicides, sexual assaults, gun violence and car thefts, to name only a few.
“Impartiality and unbiased opinions are really important to us. We often try not to know details of a case before or after our work. So the only way we would really know is if a detective or an officer reaches out and says, ‘Thank you, you know, your work really helped our case and led to this arrest’,” she said.
Getting it right and working together is a culture shared across the AFIS Units. They hold each other accountable.
“We’re all about teamwork. We kind of have to be. Every one of our cases goes through a verification process. So when one of our examiners is working a case, every identification or decision is verified. Any mistake or careless decision has a negative consequence for an investigation,” she said.
Quaale notes, many people who get into this line of work have a degree focused on biology, chemistry or criminal justice.
“Most of us have a love for problem solving, details, procedure, and working in a field where we’re improving public safety and making a difference. It gives us a sense of purpose that a lot of careers don’t. That’s certainly why I’m here to feel like I’m doing something meaningful in my life,” she said.
She has no doubt there will be many more cases to process this year and says the units are ready to help.
“We’re very blessed to get to work with officers and detectives who’ve dedicated their lives to keeping the public safe. We’re happy to be a part of that. We’re highly-trained individuals and we are very good at our work. We are happy to provide that service to SPD and the public,” Quaale said.
The SPD ICAC Unit has a tip line email address where information pertaining to the ongoing Queen Anne CSAM investigation can be shared directly with detectives.
The email address is: SPD_ICACTipline@seattle.gov. The incident number is: 2025-057676.
Latent print examiners collect and preserve latent physical evidence in the lab, at crime scenes and from a wide variety of materials using physical, chemical, electronic and optical techniques. Learn more about jobs with the Latent Print Unit here.
ID Technicians are responsible for obtaining, processing, and comparing fingerprints to determine identity and any prior criminal record. Learn more about ID Technician roles here.
The Seattle Police Department is the Lead Agency for the Washington Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (WA ICAC TF). The WA ICAC TF is a multi-jurisdictional group of agencies dedicated to the protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation. Learn more about SPD’s ICAC Unit here.