The FBI's fingerprint files
A place for every print, and every print in its place
Chris Wild
1944
Filing doesn't have to be dull. Here is the evidence — in more ways than one.These photos picture the FBI's overflow filing system, housed during World War II in the Washington, D.C. Armory. By the early 1940s, the FBI's archive housed more than 23 million card and 10 million fingerprint records, with 400,000 new cards added each and every month. Around the war, the federal government invested huge resources into the FBI to investigate potential defectors and spies. President Roosevelt, for one, was concerned about the lure of Communism and the subsequent threat to democracy. By the end of 1943, the FBI employed around 13,000 people.
Since 1924, the FBI has been the single U.S. repository for fingerprints. Computers were first installed to search these files in 1980. Since 1999, the FBI has stored and accessed its fingerprint database via the digital IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System).
With its distinctive domed roof, the D.C. Armory opened in 1941 as the headquarters, armory and training facility for the D.C. National Guard. It has also been used as a tryout venue for American Idol.
