The Agency has signed a contract with Cogent Systems (Nasdaq: COGT) to supply mobile fingerprint identification devices which will allow police officers to scan a person's fingerprints while on the beat and check them against the national fingerprint database for verification. This will enable faster identification of those whose details are verified without having to take up much of their time, and also quickly identify those who are known to the police. This will save the public's time, police officer's time and help increase the number of offenders brought to justice. As an example, officers stopped a man who produced an Irish passport as proof of identity. The officers then checked his identity against the national fingerprint database using a mobile identification device and the results came back within minutes identifying the man as an offender who had fled the UK eleven years ago after being found guilty of raping an eleven year old girl. Other benefits reported from officers currently using mobile identification devices as part of the national Lantern Pilot, include: Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, Chief Executive of the NPIA, said: "From hours to minutes, advances in fingerprinting technology are helping the police to identify one person from many. "Identification is crucial to police investigations and giving officers the ability to do this on-the-spot within minutes is giving them more time to spend working in their communities, helping to fight crime, bringing more offenders to justice and better protecting the public. "The NPIA looks forward to working with Cogent Systems to ensure this new technology is rolled to all forces." Deputy Chief Constable Peter Goodman, ACPO lead on Mobile Identification, said: "We are entering exciting times with the progression of this new Capability. This new technology will allow police to more easily confirm the identity of suspects on the street without having to arrest them and return to the police station to confirm who they are as we currently have to do. It also means cost savings equivalent to releasing some 360 officers back to front line policing each year." Ming Hsieh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogent Systems, said: "As the prime contractor, Cogent thrives to bring the most diverse mobile identification device selection and the most efficient mobile identification solution thus the best value to the UK police forces. "We look forward to working closely with the NPIA to improve public safety and enhance the productivity and safety of police officers." Notes to editors "MIDAS" the project has resulted from the hugely successful NPIA project called Lantern which is currently trialling mobile identification in 28 UK police forces. About the Lantern Pilot The Lantern device works by electronically scanning the subject's index fingers, which are sent using encrypted wireless transmissions to the central fingerprint database. A real-time search against the national fingerprint collection of 8.3 million prints is performed. Any possible matches are identified and transmitted to an officer in a target time of less than two minutes. The Lantern pilot, which involves 330 devices being piloted in 28 forces, has helped the development of a national solution for use by all forces by demonstrating how it performs in an operational environment. The pilot will end in the summer of 2010 when the new devices begin to roll out to forces. The 28 police forces taking part in the pilot are: Bedfordshire Police, British Transport Police, Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Lancashire Constabulary, Metropolitan Police Service, North Wales Police, Northamptonshire Police, West Midlands Police, West Yorkshire Police, City of London Police, Durham Constabulary, Dyfed-Powys Police, Gloucestershire Constabulary, Norfolk Constabulary, Northumbria Police, Nottinghamshire Police, South Wales Police, Suffolk Constabulary, Sussex Police, Avon and Somerset Police, Thames Valley Police, Kent Police, Surrey Police, Derbyshire Constabulary, Leicestershire Constabulary, Merseyside Police and Greater Manchester Police.
During the first year of roll-out, up to 3,000 new devices will be deployed to forces in England and Wales, helping to cut the number of trips police make back to the police station and giving them more time to spend on the frontline. For example, rather than arresting and detaining an individual to establish their identity, which can take up to several hours, it will take a couple of minutes.
About Mobile Identification
Mobile Identification (Mobile ID) is a development project at the NPIA which will provide a national capability for law enforcement officers to use fingerprints to identify a person at a scene without having to return to a police station. Mobile ID is also one of the initiatives which aims to support the NPIA's wider Information Systems Improvement Strategy (ISIS).
Lantern's capability allows officers to establish a person's identity using two of their fingerprints, away from the police station, thus increasing the efficiency of officers and reducing the time spent in the police station.
About Cogent Systems
Cogent is a global biometric identification solutions provider to governments, law enforcement agencies, and commercial enterprises. Cogent provides the highest quality identification systems, products, and services with leading technology, accuracy, and speed. Cogent's Automated Fingerprint/Palm Print Identification Systems, or CAFIS, enable customers to capture fingerprint and palm print images electronically, encode prints into searchable files, and accurately compare a set of fingerprints/palm prints to a database containing potentially millions of prints in seconds. For more information, please visit www.cogentsystems.com.
