AFIS

AFIS, child care, criminal background check, fingerprint, Georgia, US

US: Background check requirements for working in child care facilities

Fingerprint background checks for day care workers in Georgia (Biometric Update)

Georgia’s governor, Nathan Deal has just signed a bill into law that will see national fingerprint and criminal record searches performed for day care workers.

Georgia is joining the 32 states* requiring a check of the FBI fingerprint database and 30 states that require a sate-level fingerprint check for employment as a child care provider.

A table of state-by-state Child Care Center Regulations [pdf] compiled by Child Care Aware® of America shows which states require fingerprint searches of state and federal databases.

Here’s a summary:

The linked pdf contains information on what type of background check (Federal fingerprints, state fingerprints, criminal record check, child abuse registries, sex offender registries) is conducted in each jurisdiction.

The document is current as of April 17, 2013 and the aforementioned table has notes changes in the law that aren’t yet in force.

Observations:
A few states require a search against one of the fingerprint databases but not the other.
Many states require a search against both fingerprint databases but not the state’s sex offender registry.

*plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Department of Defense. The study accounts for 52 political entities referred to as “states” throughout this post.

AFIS, fingerprint, interoperability, law enforcement

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

— Arthur C. Clarke

Fingerprint led to arrest in Dollar General killings, detective testifies (Wichita Eagle)

Detective Tim Relph said a video camera showed the killer walking into the store and quickly leaving after shooting two people with a .22-caliber handgun. The killer tried to exit the store through an entrance door before realizing that the door wouldn’t open from the inside, Relph said. The finger and palm print left on that entrance door proved to be the key to solving the case, he said.

The shooting occurred at 8:01 p.m. on Nov. 30, Relph said, and a computerized fingerprint classification system identified Marshall as a possible suspect by 3:45 the next morning. By 4 a.m., he said, a fingerprint examiner confirmed that the print came from Marshall.

“By 4:30 in the morning there were 50 police officers looking for him,” Relph testified.

Shooting at 8:01 PM. Positive ID before 4:00 AM. That’s less than eight hours. Sometimes, we’re led by various television programs and movies to believe that the process is much quicker than that.

In actuality, given the steps involved, the eight hour turn-around is magical. Because…

Law enforcement, NIST making fingerprint files easier to search (GCN)

Not all AFIS are alike, however. State and local agencies often maintain their own databases, and although there can be some interoperability in a vertical hierarchy of local, state and federal databases, there is very little interoperability horizontally between neighboring jurisdictions. To search different databases, examiners must mark distinctive features for fingerprints manually for different systems, using different coding, notation methods and data definitions.

See also: Law enforcement interoperability, though little discussed, is a big deal

It looks like quite a lot of progress is being made on the interoperability challenges we’ve discussed from time-to-time.

AFIS, fingerprint, immigration, law enforcement, Philippines, US

Philippines expands biometric law enforcement capabilities

Philippines: US donates two biometric machines to Immigration (Business Mirror)

Lawyer Maria Antonette Mangrobang, BI acting intelligence chief, said with the biometrics equipment the bureau will now to be able to build a wider and more reliable database of the illegal aliens and foreign fugitives wanted by immigration intelligence personnel.

He said, henceforth, the machine will be used to scan the fingerprints of all arrested aliens, and the data will be kept in a database along with their photographs.

AFIS, fingerprint, interoperability, law enforcement

Law enforcement interoperability

Law enforcement, NIST making fingerprint files easier to search (GCN)

Not all AFIS are alike, however. State and local agencies often maintain their own databases, and although there can be some interoperability in a vertical hierarchy of local, state and federal databases, there is very little interoperability horizontally between neighboring jurisdictions. To search different databases, examiners must mark distinctive features for fingerprints manually for different systems, using different coding, notation methods and data definitions.

AFIS, border, FBI, fingerprint, immigration, New Mexico

IAFIS: Biometrics ID some rough customers crossing the New Mexico border

New Mexico border agents arrest 2 convicted murderers; seize pot (Las Curces Sun-News)

On Saturday agents assigned to the Lordsburg station encountered a group of people who illegally entered the United States. Biometric information was submitted into the Integrated Automated Identification System (IAFIS), which revealed that one subject, later identified as 40-year old Inocencio Noveron Sostenes from Mexico, was convicted of murder in 2004, and served several years in prison. The subject will be criminally prosecuted on a prior order of removal and returned back to Mexico after re-instatement.

The following day, agents assigned to the Interstate 10 checkpoint west of Las Cruces encountered a Jamaican national traveling in a rental vehicle to Los Angeles. The subject’s biometric information was submitted into the IAFIS Data Base. It revealed 44-year-old Sirano Thompson had an extensive criminal history to include, but not limited to, a conviction for attempted first degree murder in Florida.

AFIS, audit, database, DHS, fraud, ID, US

Biometrics Uncover 825,000 ID Inconsistencies in DHS Database

Fingerprint Records Reveal 825,000 Immigrants With Multiple Names (Mashable)

Many of the situations involved women who legally altered their names. “We found that nearly 400,000 records for women have different last names for the same first name, date of birth and [fingerprint identification number],” he wrote. “These instances are likely women who changed their names after a marriage.”

During the study, auditors examined records covering 1998 through 2011.

Most of the time, US-VISIT personnel try to resolve cases in which people who appear to be one and the same have different information listed in records, the auditors found. The researchers are not specifically targeting scams, Deffer explained. Accidental typos, the fact that various immigration-related agencies use incompatible data formats and other keying mistakes are factors they look for when probing mismatches. During the course of typical procedures, US-VISIT has picked up on only two instances of fraud, agency officials reported to the IG.

The enormity of the conflicting data, however, may obscure actual fraud. “These inconsistencies can make it difficult to distinguish between data entry errors and individuals potentially committing identity fraud,” he wrote.

As they grow and age databases can get really junked-up. Biometrics, in this case fingerprint biometrics, can be extremely helpful in maintaining their integrity. The database involved here is the on maintained by the US Department of Homeland Security US-VISIT program. It contains (wait for it) information, including a fingerprint, on all visitors to the US. The fingerprint has been the linchpin of the audit that discovered 825,000 database errors because it is the only  piece of truly unique and durable, personal information stored.

Before automated fingerprint ID systems (AFIS), combinations of data were used to reduce ID error rates to some reasonable approximation of zero. While names, birth dates, and other descriptors aren’t unique, multiplying them together works pretty well for a while. Working against this system are legal name changes and human typographical errors in data entry which have the database effect of creating a whole new person,  which runs counter to the reasons for keeping such a database in the first place.

See Biometric “Fix” Identity which takes on this issue from the angle of intentional fraud.

AFIS, CJIS, DNA, face, FBI, finger, fingerprint, government, iris, Kirkpatrick, law enforcement, modality, palm, privacy, tweetchat

Biometrics & the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS)

Here’s a Storify transcript of this morning’s Tweet Chat about biometrics (#biometricchat).

I offer many thanks to John at M2SYS for asking me to fill in for him and Mike Kirkpatrick for taking time out of his busy schedule to lend his experience to our understanding of the FBI’s use of biometrics for law enforcement and civilian purposes.

Background for the conversation is here.

July, 19 2012 Biometric Chat with Mike Kirkpatrick : Assistant Director in Charge of the Bureau’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division from April 2001 – August 2004.

Powered by Storify

  1. SecurLinx
    Good morning and welcome to this month’s chat on#biometric technology! #biometricchat
  2. SecurLinx
    I’m honored to be filling in for John @m2sys as this month’s host. Thanks for asking me, John!#biometricchat
  3. m2sys
    Good morning to you and thanks for taking over this month’s chat – we really are appreciative of your guest hosting skills! #biometricchat
  4. SecurLinx
    @m2sys The pleasure is mine. AND Thank you, and welcome to Mike @MDKConsulting, for joining us.#biometricchat
  5. SecurLinx
    Today, we will be discussing #biometrics in Law Enforcement (esp. FBI). Our guest is Michael Kirkpatrick. @MDKConsulting #biometricchat
  6. MDKConsulting
    Thanks for the invite! I’m looking forward to this morning’s chat #biometricchat
  7. SecurLinx
    @MDKConsulting Mike finished his FBI career as Asst. Dir. in charge of the FBI’s CJIS center (Apr. 2001 – Aug. 2004) #biometricchat
  8. SecurLinx
    Those dates should give you some idea of the challenges at the FBI’s CJIS. #biometricchat
  9. m2sys
    @SecurLinx Quite a tumultuous time at the FBI’s CJIS…anxious to hear some of Mike’s feedback and insight. #biometricchat
  10. SecurLinx
    Feel free to chip in with your own answers – answer each question (Q1, Q2, Q3, etc.) with A1, A2, A3, etc.#biometricchat
  11. SecurLinx
    Also feel free to submit your own questions during chat or ask other questions of the group. #biometricchat
  12. SecurLinx
    Q1: What was the biggest challenge CJIS faced in the transition from a paper fingerprint system to a fully fledged IAFIS? #biometricchat
  13. MDKConsulting
    A1:There were several challenges. Building the world’s largest #AFIS; IdM had never been done on that scale before… #biometricchat
  14. Note: IdM = Identity Management
  15. MDKConsulting
    A1…Getting the budget to build it ($640M); there were no #fingerprint electronic transmission standards so they had to be.. #biometricchat
  16. MDKConsulting
    A1:…developed (EFTS); Most #fingerprints were still being captured on paper so had to be converted to digital images:… #biometricchat
  17. MDKConsulting
    A1:…Major #FBI workforce retraining; IAFIS didn’t always work as advertised in the early days so alot of downtime #biometricchat
  18. m2sys
    Q1: Were lawmakers at the time reluctant to fund this or was it generally accepted that this was natural maturation? #biometricchat
  19. MDKConsulting
    m2sys A1: Overall, congress was very supportive but this was a high profile project, the only one of its peer projects… #biometricchat
  20. MDKConsulting
    m2sys A1:…(e.g., FAA & IRS modernizations) to succeed. It turned out to be a high risk/high reward project #biometricchat
  21. SecurLinx
    Q2: CJIS is a key part of US ID infrastructure. What is the breakdown between Law Enforcement vs civilian/licensing queries? #biometricchat
  22. SecurLinx
    FBI CJIS is used for firearm background checks, child care workers, financial services employment and more…#biometricchat
  24. BiometricUpdate
    Often wondered about this breakdown myself, actually#biometricchat #biometricchat
  25. MDKConsulting
    A2: #FBI has 2 #fingerprint streams-criminal and civil (licensing & employment checks). Currently ~55% are criminal… #biometricchat
  26. MDKConsulting
    A2:…and 45% are civil. The original IAFIS was designed to process 60K prints/day. #FBI Next Generation Identification… #biometricchat
  27. MDKConsulting
    A2: …(NGI) now easily processes more than 185K/day. Quite a leap forward! #biometricchat
  29. MDKConsulting
    Firearm pre-sale checks (NICS) are name-based, not fingerprint-based. #biometricchat
  30. SecurLinx
    @mdkconsulting Good catch re firearms… done thru the FBI but no fingerprints involved. #biometricchat
  31. SecurLinx
    Q3: What is the next biometric modality CJIS would like to incorporate into IAFIS? #biometricchat
  32. MDKConsulting
    A3: In order of priority, palm prints, face, and iris capabilities will be added to NGI. #biometricchat
  33. BiometricUpdate
    We just wrote about the B12 MORIS system being adopted by FBI. How much time can apps like this save?bit.ly/LYXvug #biometricchat
  34. SecurLinx
    Let’s go quickly to Q4 and then deal with Q3 & Q4 together… #BiometricChat
  35. SecurLinx
    Q4: Then, if the Big Three of #biometrics are Face, Finger/palm print & Iris – Where does DNA fit in?#BiometricChat
  36. MDKConsulting
    A4: There’s an ongoing multi-agency effort on rapid#DNA, which will put a “quick” DNA capability at the …#biometricchat
  37. SecurLinx
    @mdkconsulting Love the quotes around quick. Definitely quick compared to earlier DNA analysis!#BiometricChat
  38. MDKConsulting
    A4:…booking stations. We should see this in the market within the next couple of years. It’ll help solve alot of cases. #biometricchat
  39. MDKConsulting
    A4: #DNA in many ways is the ultimate #biometric but still has many privacy issues associated with it as well as the past… #biometricchat
  40. MDKConsulting
    A4:…relative slowness in getting results. It can prove someone innocent as easily as proving someone guilty, which is… #biometricchat
  41. MDKConsulting
    A4:…good as all in criminal justice should be searching for the truth. #biometricchat
  42. SecurLinx
    @MDKConsulting Excellent point. Biometrics can be evidence of either innocence and guilt. #biometricchat
  43. m2sys
    @MDKConsulting Q4: So DNA quick checks will be at booking stations to circumvent lab analysis in as little as a few years? #biometricchat
  44. MDKConsulting
    @m2sys A4: These are envisioned as a “quick” check as an investigative lead rather than a full-on forensic lab exam #biometricchat
  45. m2sys
    @MDKConsulting Thank you, truly amazing advances in science for DNA processing! #biometricchat
  46. MDKConsulting
    Currently, #FBI is processing criminal fingerprints in just a few minutes. Rapid DNA is envisioned to be more like an hour. #biometricchat
  47. SecurLinx
    Q3/4b: Which (palm, face, iris, DNA) advancement in CJIS capabilities is furthest along? #BiometricChat
  49. SecurLinx
    Last question Q5: What are some near future capabilities related to #biometrics that the FBI would really like to add? #biometricchat
  50. MDKConsulting
    A5: #FBI & law enforcement are looking for smaller, faster, cheaper mobile #biometric collection devices; capability for … #biometricchat
  51. MDKConsulting
    A5:…collection at a distance for fingerprints and iris; implementation of a national palm print capability (a high % of … #biometricchat
  52. MDKConsulting
    A5:…crime scene latents are palm prints); and greater accuracy in facial recognition technology for large databases. #biometricchat
  53. BiometricUpdate
    @MDKConsulting is palm a priority for any particular reason, or is it just an indication of technological advancement? #biometricchat
  54. MDKConsulting
    A @biometricupdate: Palm print capability will help to solve many crimes which are unsolved without it. Countries, such … #biometricchat
  55. MDKConsulting
    A @biometricupdate: …as Australia, which have implemented palms have reported significant increases in latent matches. #biometricchat
  56. SecurLinx
    That’s all folks. Our sincere thanks to @MDKConcultingMike Kirkpartick for taking the time to talk with us: FBI#biometricchat
  57. SecurLinx
    We kept him a little late but hopefully @MDKConsulting(and you) enjoyed our conversation as much as I did.#BiometricChat
  58. MDKConsulting
    Thanks! I’ve appreciated the opportunity to chat about one of my passions! #biometricchat
  60. m2sys
    @MDKConsulting Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, it was extremely informative!#biometricchat
  61. SecurLinx
    Thanks @MDKConsulting! Thanks @m2sys for lending me the #BiometricChat hashtag! & to@BiometricUpdate for the questions!
AFIS, chat, CJIS, FBI, ID management, interoperability, Kirkpatrick, law enforcement, management, modality, standards, technology, tweetchat

Michael D. Kirkpatrick FBI Assistant Director in Charge of Criminal Justice Information Services (Ret.) to Discuss Biometrics & Law Enforcement at July #BiometricChat

When: July 19, 2012 — 11:00 am EDT; 8:00 am PDT; 16:00 pm BST; 17:00 pm CEST; 23:00 pm SGT; 0:00 JST

Where: tweetchat.com (hashtag #biometricchat) 

What: Tweet chat on Biometrics and Law Enforcement with Michael D. Kirkpatrick (@MDKConsulting)

Topics: The past, present and future of biometric ID management applications in law enforcement, interoperability, modalities.

To send questions for the #BiometricChat:
Email: SecurLinx blog
Twitter: @SecurLinx, hashtag #biometricchat

When John at M2SYS asked me to guest host the July #BiometricChat, I immediately thought of Michael Kirkpatrick. I’m happy to announce that he’s agreed to join us. I offer my sincere thanks to both of them for the opportunity.

Michael Kirkpatrick

Michael D. Kirkpatrick, as the FBI’s Assistant Director in Charge of the Bureau’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division from January 2001 – August 2004, led the Division through profound IT changes especially relating to the application of biometric technologies to the challenges of law enforcement.

Back in the day (i.e. before 1999), fingerprint analysis for law enforcement purposes was a much different ball game. Everything was accomplished with paper, ink, and highly-trained, dedicated  fingerprint analysts. That made law enforcement biometrics pretty much the only biometrics game in town because there weren’t really any commercial applications for that type of set-up. Sure, some professions required criminal background checks, but the fingerprinting part was mostly there to make it easier to catch people in the event they committed crimes at some later date.

Presently, the FBI maintains the world’s largest collection of biometric data and facilitates information sharing between law enforcement organizations and a range of both public and private entities. The CJIS center handles more than 61 million ten-print submissions a year. Average response time for an electronic criminal fingerprint submission is about 27 minutes, Electronic civil submissions are processed within 72 minutes.

The successful transition from a paper system to an Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), presented a range of technical, organizational and managerial challenges such as: What to do with all the paper records; What technical standards to apply to digitization; Determining what confidence level constitutes a match; How to receive input remotely and transmit results;  How to store the information securely; What policies to put in place; Determining whether current international agreements were adequate or forging new ones necessary. The list goes on and on.

Without the hard work sorting out these kinds of questions done by those at CJIS, biometric ID management applications, beginning with fingerprint biometrics, simply would not have nearly the impact in the public and private sectors that they do today. Michael D. Kirkpatrick was one of the many people who helped make it all possible.

Over the course of his career, Michael has done far too many interesting things in law enforcement and biometrics than can be listed here. Thankfully, he has posted a brief overview of some of his experiences at his site, here. He tweets at @MDKConsulting

We hope that you will spread the word among your colleagues and friends and join us Thursday, July 19 at 11am EDT.

Please send questions via:
Email: SecurLinx blog
Twitter: @SecurLinx, hashtag #biometricchat

We’ll publish the chat questions in an update to this post early next week.

AFIS, border, FBI, law enforcement

Biometrics ID Child Abuser Entering the US for the Fourth Time

Border Patrol Agents arrest convicted sex offender (Deming Headlight)

The subject’s biographical and biometric information was submitted into the “Integrated Automated Identification System,” or IAFIS. The system positively identified the subject and revealed that Ramos-Ruiz had a prior conviction from Iowa for sexual assault with intent to commit sexual abuse with-a-child in August 1987. The information also stated that he had been imprisoned for a period of two years.

AFIS, county, finger, ID management, US, Washington

King County, Washington: AFIS Costs and Benefiets

Voters could decide $118.9 million county levy for fingerprint services (Issaquah Press)

King County voters could decide on a $118.9 million property tax levy to continue funding criminal fingerprint identification services for local law enforcement agencies.

The proposal is to keep the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS, in operation through 2018. The system provides criminal fingerprint identification services to law enforcement agencies throughout the county, including the Issaquah Police Department.

The proposed renewal levy rate is 5.92 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or about $20.72 per year for a $350,000 home. Voters approved the initial AFIS levy in 1986, and overwhelmingly renewed the levy since then, most recently in 2006. The current levy expires in December.

“As a regional crime-fighting tool, AFIS is our ‘CSI: King County,’ bringing new technology to the job of cracking cases and catching criminals,” County Executive Dow Constantine said in a statement.

Read the whole thing. There are numbers to indicate that the system is getting cheaper to administer over time. There are other indicators that even as the system is costing less, its capabilities are expanding.

King County contains Seattle (map here).

AFIS, FBI, fingerprint, immigration, law enforcement, Massachusetts, Missouri, secure communities

Massachusetts & Secure Communities

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson welcomed the news that the program will go into effect statewide May 15 (South Coast Today)

Here’s the AP’s take:
Controversial immigration program goes ahead despite Gov. Patrick’s objections

The program appears to be popular with elected law enforcement officials (county sheriffs) but less so among other elected leaders (the governor and some city councils).

 

Click here for DHS ICE coverage PDF.

The comprehensive PFD at the ICE site has detail for each state. The only participating county in Massachusetts led to the detection of roughly the same number of re-arrested criminal aliens as in entire state of Missouri.

See post below for a national perspective on Secure Communities.