Guatemala City, by Kevin Castillo -AGN- The Criminalistic Bureau Unit -Gacri- of the Subdirectorate General of Criminal Investigation -SGIC- of the National Civil Police -PNC- has a registry of more than 6 million fingerprints of suspected criminals.
The Gacri unit currently has 244 investigators in 24 offices nationwide, including the criminal courts in Guatemala City, Villa Nueva, and Mixco, Guatemala.
Results
This unit has reported 14,708 registered fingerprints from January 1 to July 2023, helping more investigation units to uncover alleged criminals.
Guatemalan and foreign investigators train Graci officers to analyze and identify the different types of fingerprints. The most common crimes recorded in the unit are:
- assault
- extortion
- theft
- homicide
- violence against women
- driver liability
Story
The Gacri unit was created on December 5, 1922, and its functions are:
- Keeping criminal records
- Supply the police records system
- Safeguarding all information, such as fingerprints and records
- Remove homonyms and police records for those who have served a sentence or were acquitted of a crime.
In the beginning, this unit used the Vucetich system, and due to the increase in the incidence of crime, they are using the Henry fingerprint system. They also have a Fingerprint and Palmprint Identification System -AFIS-, used to recognize fingerprints, tattoos, marks, and scars, helping search persons linked to criminal acts.
The Gacri unit receives more than 25 people daily who seek to corroborate their identity because they have had a problem with a homonym.
Providing Education
This year, the unit began to receive criminology interns from different universities to provide them with knowledge of criminal investigation and justice in the country.
