📄 Abstract
Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) are often romanticized as instant solutions, creating a stark disconnect between algorithmic capacity and the lived realities of forensic examiners working within hybrid digital-manual workflows. Using a phenomenological design, this study investigated the lived operational experiences of ten active fingerprint examiners in centralized Manila forensic ecosystems. Data gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews were analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis under strict data privacy and research ethics protocols. The empirical findings revealed that AFIS functions strictly as a candidate-generation tool, requiring meticulous manual template adjustments, thereby upholding human agency and dismantling media-driven myths. However, computational speed was severely hindered by expired vendor maintenance contracts, causing software freezes that directly conflicted with daily production quotas (50-60 cards). While cold-case matches elevated professional morale, operational reach remained constrained by biometric database silos. Consequently, examiners resorted to personal time sacrifices to bridge resource gaps: unpaid overtime, weekend shifts, and multi-terminal workarounds. Automation does not replace human expertise; rather, it elevates examiners from manual archivists to critical validators of algorithmic outputs. Long-term laboratory viability requires transitioning away from informal practitioner workarounds toward structured socio-technical alignment. The study recommends institutionalizing the proposed Forensic Socio-Technical Enhancement Framework (FSTEF), specifically mandating ring-fenced vendor maintenance budgets, dynamic quota calibrations during technical downtime, interagency biometric data connectivity, dual-monitor workstation layouts, and mandatory cognitive fatigue safeguards.
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📚 How to Cite:
Santos, Lourdes R , BEYOND THE PRINTS: EXPLORING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF FINGERPRINT EXAMINERS WITH AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM , Volume 12 , Issue 8, August 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 725 - 739 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra31335