In describing the use of fingerprints in criminal justice work, the video focuses on the identification of persons at a crime scene, the linking of a person to other crimes in which fingerprints were obtained, and the compilation of criminal histories. The review of the fingerprint system in Michigan notes that for 65 years it was a manual system in which individual cards were filed and retrieved manually in fingerprint searches. Under such a system, a suspect's name would be required for a search to determine if the suspect's prints were on file and if they matched prints found at a crime scene. This manual system has been replaced by the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which conducts computerized cross- reference checks. In this system, fingerprints from a crime scene without suspect names can be compared to every print in the file in a short time. The video profiles Michigan cases unsolved under the manual system and then closed some years later with fingerprint matches under AFIS. The crucial factor in the proper performance of AFIS is the obtaining of fingerprints with a high quality image. The remainder of the video instructs viewers in the proper way to obtain a fingerprint from a suspect, such that it is fully rolled, centered and straight in the placement box, well contrasted, and clear and distinct.