November 5, 2012

Let’s face it.  Times are tough and getting new technology on the street for the troops seems next to impossible.  However, there are times when the status quo is more expensive than the hardware the department is asking for.

Case in point… MorphoIDent portable fingerprint scanner allows field identification of a suspicious person without taking the officer off the street to bring the individual to a precinct office or jail.  The device has a look similar to the average smart phone and fits in a pocket just as easily.  The Blue Tooth or USB interface allows direct link to AFIS through a patrol officer’s laptop and results can be delivered within seconds.

So how does spending $1,700 per scanner save the department money?  That’s easy…

Consider the lost work time of spending one hour to transport and fingerprint ID a person.  Sure there’s the cost of one hour of the officer’s salary, but add to it the total cost per hour of benefits, HR admin time, and vehicle cost for the trip to the “cop shop”.  That would be the officer’s “loaded rate.”  Now, add the loaded rate for anyone assisting the officer once he gets to HQ.  Intangible costs include the loss of police presence on the street during that time. Now, multiply that number by the total hours your department spends identifying suspicious people per year.

Compare that number with the price of a scanner.  Which one is cheaper?  You tell me.

Instead of a full set of prints, only scans of the two index fingers are taken.  Once a match is made, the suspect’s picture and demographic information are displayed on screen.  The system is robust enough to analyze multiple suspects at the same time (because birds of a feather do flock together).  A vibration alert notifies the officer when the scan is successfully made and results are ready.  The 2.4” VGA screen is designed to be visible outdoors in full daylight.

So, how good is this whiz-bang gizmo?  The manufacturer claims the optical sensor is FBI certified and meets their Fingerprint Acquisition Profile (FAP) 20 specifications.  The MorphoIDent claims a scan resolution of 500 dots per inch (dpi) and a 256 gray scale.  Currently, the King County Sheriff’s Office in the Seattle, Washington area operates 4 units and anticipates delivery of 6 more.

Not everyone is ecstatic about the system.  The American Civil Liberties Union (not exactly a fixture in F.O.P. gatherings) has been expressing concerns that the system might be used to collect and store fingerprint information without probable cause.  However, the system is designed to query the AFIS database, not add to it.  Besides, such databases require a full set of prints instead of the two used by MorphoIDent.

Bruce Bremer, MBA is LET’s technology contributor. Bruce retired from the Submarine Service after 21 years of in-depth experience with complex electronic technology. Since then, he has been involved in fleet modernization and military research analysis. He teaches electronics and alternative energy at a Virginia college. Besides his MBA, Bruce earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer networking. He has been volunteering in public safety for many years.

http://lawenforcementtoday.com/2012/11/05/new-portable-fingerprint-...