Page 18 - Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)

INTRODUCTION 3

24 hours a day, 7 days a week schedule rather than a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule
in order to complete criminal background checks on all arrestees before
arraignment. A more interactive process might include the need for agencies
to collaborate on sharing database information. Decisions are being made today
as to which of these changes will produce the greatest effect.
Most people have probably heard the word biometric and have a vague
notion of what it means. It can conjure up images of laboratories and white
coats, scientists peering over pipettes and reading printouts. A biometric is the
measurement of a physical characteristic or personal trait. Certainly some of its
applications do require laboratories, but many others do not.
There are also stereotypes about identification processes. Many forms of
identification technology are emerging, with varying degrees of success and
application. Iris scans, voice recognition, and DNA are just a few of the bio-
metrics that have recently caught the interest of the general public, who is
becoming more and more interested in security. More than ever, citizens and
their governments want to have the ability to find the identity of a person and,
from that identity, the history of the person. They want to know if a person
has a criminal record in their own or another locale, if a person is a wanted
fugitive or is dangerous, or if a person entrusted with the care of children or
the elderly has any history that would make them unfit for a job with those age
groups.
There is no “magic bullet” biometric. Each biometric application has
strengths and weaknesses, supporters and detractors. Limitations for extensive
use of a particular biometric might include the expense of the components,
the speed of the processing, or the limitations on daily volumes. If a biometric
device costs $100,000 per unit, plus $20,000 in maintenance per year, it may
have less appeal than a device with the same accuracy but slightly slower
throughput that costs $10,000 with $2,000 in annual maintenance.
The degree of public acceptance of one biometric over another is also a
factor in the type of biometric used. The process of speaking to a machine that
recognizes a voice pattern does not seem invasive to most people. Staring
into an eyepiece for a retinal scan, however, produces a very different, very
negative, reaction. Each has advantages and disadvantages, supporters and
detractors.

1.2 FINGERPRINTS
There is one biometric that has been systematically used to make identifications
for over 100 years. This is a biometric that has been measured, copied, and
examined extensively, a biometric that does not change and is relatively easy to
capture. It is a biometric that is not invasive and does not require sophisticated