Sunday, June 29, 2014

Live-Scan Fingerprinting Is Fast And Accurate

By Sherry Gross


Traditional methods of personal identification based on skin patterns have been used since 1858. The procedure normally requires pressing a single digit onto an ink pad, and then rolling it on a piece of paper to create an outline of fingertip ridges. Getting a good image may require several attempts, and ink-stains are a common hazard. Live-scan fingerprinting eliminates the mess and increases accuracy.

Few individuals have never had their prints copied at some point during their lives, and many people express concerns about easy government and corporate access to their personal identity and linked information. While any system carries the potential for abuse, the digital process is the next logical step in upgrading current, existing databases, and making them more quickly accessible when circumstances require a quick solution.

Although they sound new, digital identification methods have existed for years. Biometrics, or the instant analysis of personal physical appearance, is already available to law enforcement agencies, and is vital to many advanced security setups. Eye features are compared during retinal scans, and ears are also being used similarly. Computerized vocal recording analysis is a necessary tool, and DNA is a well-known personal marker.

Although most people do not become career criminals, there are instances where taking prints is absolutely necessary. Any person who has applied for a government job, even as a part-time census worker, has faced a background check. Other job categories that absolutely require a similar investigation before hiring will even be considered include teachers, security workers, pilots, pharmacists, and many more.

This is the era of big data. Although all Internet and phone traffic is currently being captured, a universal, easily-accessed database for needing to gather information does not yet exist. Current privacy laws prevent over-sharing of confidential data, yet each day there are thousands of new background check applications. That means a new live scan becomes necessary for each one, and the information may not be re-used.

Today, a system dubbed the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or IAFIS, has the ability to return print requests within thirty minutes. Along with criminal records, including mug shots, it can easily ID around 50 million citizens. It is also used to process various licenses, employee screening requests, and applications for social and government services. The remote field machines resemble a small copier.

It is not possible simply to buy one of these used devices on the Internet to surreptitiously gain information. Most states today require approved purchases through selected vendors, and any unauthorized requests or transmissions are blocked. System components commonly include a palm and print scanner, specialized software for computer operations, a secure network, and trained operators.

No one wants to wait up to eight weeks for a simple background check, and digital scanning greatly reduces that formerly common delay. They create few errors associated with manual printing, and when a problem occurs, it can be quickly corrected. The process takes less than five minutes, and there is no danger of staining clothes or hands. Wait times are practically non-existent, and results usually arrive within 48 hours.




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