How often are you convinced that the criminal system is 100% certain it has the right person? How many times have they got it totally wrong? You have erroneous shit happening all the time. Fingerprints are sometimes identical. People don't want to admit it because it erodes at the idea of justice. But when big screw ups are as common as you've seen in the news, how much do you really really know about who is committing crimes?

If someone picked me up based on fingerprints, I would much rather them say "We found prints matching yours at this crime scene. Statistically, there are 5 other people with prints like that in the area. We have circumstantial evidence that points to you as well. Since we aren't certain, but we have your prints we'll fine you 1/5th of the full amount for the regular violation." Currently, we make mistakes that lock people up for years based upon uncertain accusations - it's always all or nothing. This puts way too much pressure on investigators to get it right and in the case of murders, put someone away no matter what.

I'll tell you what - if they're going to make the mistake anyway, I'd rather have 1/5th to 1/20th of the time to serve.

Edit: This is the 21st century. We're also not restricted to simply imprisonment. Other factors can be affected. It would be interesting if labels could be placed upon those who are suspect, like "suspicious". This could prevent certain purchases and types of travel which would make the kinds of crimes they are suspected of committing more difficult.