Surrey Police launch new mobile fingerprint technology |
- Published: Friday, 22 July 2011 09:48
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Police officers in Surrey can now check an individual's identity on the beat within two minutes, as the NPIA rolls-out new mobile fingerprinting devices to forces across the country. The new Mobile Identification (MobileID) technology allows police officers to scan a person's fingerprints while on the street and check them against information from the national fingerprint database, IDENT1 for verification. Fingerprints taken on MobileID devices are not retained after a search. This will enable faster identification of individuals saving the public and police officers time and also help increase the number of offenders who are identified and brought to justice. The devices have been deployed to operational teams across Surrey Police and are already helping cut the number of trips made back to police stations, giving officers 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 can now take a couple of minutes. Mobile ID roll-out follows successful trials which involved 28 forces, including Surrey, using Lantern devices to test how mobile fingerprinting performs in an operational environment. Feedback from the trials helped the NPIA manage the development of a smaller, hand-held national solution for use by all forces. Benefits reported from officers who used mobile identification devices as part of the national Lantern field trials, include: • an average saving of at least 30 minutes per case where used • improved levels of public confidence Chief Superintendent David Leeney, Surrey Police Senior Responsible Officer for Mobile ID in Surrey, said: "Mobile ID technology is already helping our officers on the front line to identify offenders, cut down on wasted time in custody suites and enhance officer safety. Mobile ID is a powerful tool in the fight against criminals who trade on anonymity - one of the most powerful weapons criminals have is their ability to hide their true identity and avoid arrest. With the advent of MobileID, this will become much more difficult, making our communities much safer." Paul Palmer, Surrey Police Mobile ID Programme Manager, said: "Identification is crucial to police investigations, giving officers the ability to do this on-the-spot allows them more time to spend working in our local communities, helping to fight crime, bringing more offenders to justice and better protecting the public." The MobileID project forms part of the Information Systems Improvement Strategy (ISIS), a reform programme for the police service that is using IT to improve efficiency. This will release savings and deliver operational improvements across policing and into the wider criminal justice system. |