Handy Devices For Biometric Programs
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will begin capturing fingerprints and other information from travelers with visas at land border crossings starting in 2005 as part of the US-VISIT program.
This raises the question: How do you capture all this information from travelers crossing the border in cars and on foot without causing lengthy delays? Homeland Security is in the process of choosing a systems integrator for VISIT, and that contractor will ultimately design the system that will be in place at land border crossings.
One solution biometric and identification vendors are promoting is the use of handheld biometric readers and scanners. Some of these scanners simply capture an individual’s fingerprint information for checking against a database, while others can read different types of documents—such as passports and visas—while also scanning and checking
necessary biometric information.
"We think these will be of critical importance at the land border crossings," says Stephen Price-Francis, vice president of business development at Mountain View, Calif.-based Lasercard Systems Corp., which holds the patent on optical memory cards. The U.S. State Department uses optical cards for the Mexican Border Crossing Card, and the Department of Homeland Security issues them as permanent
resident cards.
Lasercard is working on two versions of a portable reader. Price-Francis says the company will have models for sale in less than six months. He says the readers should cost around $500, but with options, such as fingerprint scanners, that price will increase. A drawback to optical stripe technology thus far has been the cost of the reader/writers, which is around $2,000.
While such handheld scanners may one day prove valuable at border crossings, until now they have mostly been used by law enforcement officials. The Powell Police Department in central Ohio is one of seven jurisdictions in the state using the MV5 handheld fingerprint scanner from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based Cross Match Technologies, according to Powell Police Department Patrolman Ron Sallows.
The 17-officer department makes about 200 arrests a year and has been using the three scanners for more than two years at its police stations. So far the department is using the devices to collect fingerprints that are stored in its own Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
Officers cannot yet used the fingerprint data collected in the field to real-time checks against Ohio’s AFIS database because of technology issues. Sallows says the agency is working on gaining access to the state’s AFIS so officers could use the scanners on the street, for instance to find out if individuals have outstanding warrants. That way even if a suspect gives a false identity the officer can find the accurate information.
The MV5 stores the fingerprint image inside the its memory. The image is then transferred through a USB or other computer connection to a laptop, personal computer or other device for a match. The scanners cost $1,500 each. "We like Cross Match because it’s a durable design and easy to use," says Seth Cramer, chief business officer at Westerville, Ohio-based Armada Group Inc, which provides law enforcement agencies with mobile workstations to check criminal information.
The Armada Group Inc. is assisting the Powell Department and six other agencies in gaining access to the Ohio 1.8 million print AFIS database, and expects such access to be available by June, Cramer says. The Ohio agencies participating in the project include Dublin, Grandview Heights, Ohio State University (OSU), Powell, Westerville, Worthington and Upper Arlington.
Cramer says there are 27 devices in use at the seven agencies. He says once they have access to the state’s AFIS database matches can be performed in about 20 seconds.
Minnetonka, Minn.-based Identix Inc. offers law enforcement officials mobile devices that capture fingerprints and facial images for searches against a criminal database, according to Frances Zelazny, director of corporate communications at the biometrics vendor.
The handheld scanners are part of Identix’s IBIS (Integrated Biometric Identification System), which includes a server and necessary software. IBIS is being used by police in Ontario, Calif., Hennepin County, Minn., and Portland, Oregon. Law enforcement officials use the Remote Data Terminal, to capture and wirelessly transmit a suspect's fingerprints and photographs for searches against the FBI's automated fingerprint database and other fingerprint databases. IBIS starts at $5,000 for servers, software and the handheld terminals.
An officer can check the person's criminal history and search for outstanding warrants. If the system makes a match, the person's name, date of birth and mug shot are transmitted to the officer's handheld terminal. If there is no match, the fingerprint and photo files are discarded from the system. "They are getting responses in two to three minutes," Zelazny says.
Exton, Penn.-based Datastrip Inc. will unveil its new identification/biometric reader at the ISC West show later this month, according to Charles Lynch, vice president of sales and marketing at the ID vendor.
The new device will be able to read contact smart cards that must be inserted into a reader, contactless smart cards that can be waved past a reader, and several types of two-dimensional bar codes, Lynch says. "We’ll also have one with a full-page passport reader," he says. The suggested retail price for the reader is $1,800.
The readers come equipped with a 500-dpi (dots per inch) fingerprint scanner that can be used to check AFIS watch lists, such as those used by Homeland Security. The devices use a Microsoft Windows handheld operating system and will be able to communicate with AFIS databases wirelessly over short distances, using Bluetooth technology.
Lynch says federal agencies and prison officials are interested in the readers. "The fingerprint can be scanned while the prisoner is in the cell and a picture can be sent back to make sure the right person is there," he says. <
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