How Law Enforcement Agencies are Using Biometrics

Biometrics and identity management are so effective and efficient that law enforcement agencies are embracing the technology with open arms. Automated biometric systems are increasingly being used by law enforcement to help verify identities, with new biometric modalities being adopted. While fingerprints were once the gold standard, the iris is rapidly becoming more popular due to its overwhelming accuracy rate and near impossibility to forge. 

Because biometrics are regularly exchanged between dissimilar systems, a standard was needed to define a common format. Thus the Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) was developed for the exchange of this data across jurisdictions and across systems by different manufacturers for maximum interoperability.

Any biometric transaction saved in EBTS format can be shared with any other system that uses the same format. It is the only widely accepted format for law enforcement, including international adoption.

Law Enforcement agencies around the globe use either a behavioral modality, physiological modality, or a combination of both. Fingerprints are the most common, followed by iris and facial recognition, with gait and voice recognition becoming more popular. The rapid embrace of biometrics for determining identity after the events of 9/11 has ushered in a revolution in the world of law enforcement and security.

Biometrics is not new to law enforcement; an Argentinian criminologist took the first fingerprint 125 years ago. Destructive events around the world have compelled authorities to adopt biometrics more fully in recent years. Almost every country in the world has adopted biometric identification.

Law Enforcement and Justice Biometrics Solutions

Biometric technology and law enforcement have a long symbiotic history when it comes to police detectives pioneering the use of fingerprint recognition and biometrics for law enforcement. Recent advancements in technology have only made this vital tool even more useful and diverse.

Law enforcement officers can now scan fingerprints and compare them to remote databases anytime and anywhere, using portable biometric devices. On the other hand, federal law enforcement agencies are looking beyond fingerprints, with the FBI developing biometric databases with face and iris data.

Police are actively using facial recognition for surveillance and criminal investigations. Even though technology has certainly played a positive role in investigations into illegal activities such as human trafficking and child abuse, it has also raised serious questions about privacy, civil rights, and racial prejudice. Further technologies are poised to add even more biometric advances to law enforcement in the future, as policymakers, advocacy organizations, police, and other stakeholders search for common ground to tackle these issues.

Benefits of Biometrics in Law Enforcement

Biometrics has many advantages. The most important is the degree of protection and accuracy it ensures. Unlike passwords, badges, or records, biometric data cannot be forgotten, exchanged, stolen, or forged.

Law Enforcement Biometric Solutions

Every citizen's protection is the responsibility of law enforcement, homeland security, and defense agencies across the continent. Finding the right partner to have the best options for supporting investigations, background checks, and field identification is a matter of public protection.

Conclusion

In today's world, law enforcement officers must capture multiple biometrics and correctly identify the individual in front of them.