US-VISIT

pace with
the transition. Currently the two-print model prevails. Jasinski, who noted
that Cogent technology also performs latent searching of fingerprints collected
from crime scenes, said that the company serves a wide array of clients, from
the international to the local level - governments, law enforcement agencies,
and commercial enterprises large and small. The size of each system depends on
the size of the client’s data base, which in turn dictates the hardware
requirement. As the data base grows, more matchers are needed. These can be run
from a device that fits in the palm of the hand or one that rests on a server.
Its adaptability commends Cogent biometric technology for a variety of
applications - and attracts opportunities from all over.

An assignment that tested all of
Cogent’s resources, and engaged virtually every engineer and technologist on
the company’s rolls, grew out of an overture, in June 2004, from the government
of Venezuela. Barely six months
after US-VISIT had gone operational, Cogent was told that that Venezuela wished to conduct
voter selection for a recall national election. This was to take place on 15 August. In forty-two days a system
had to be in place that would be capable of enrolling up to 10 million people
in a single day.

Was Cogent interested?

It was impossible, of course,” said
Jasinski. “We took the job.”

In the event, the company deployed
12,000 laptops and scanners to 3,000 locations across Venezuela. Working closely with
IBM to get the equipment it needed, Cogent took an entire production line of
IBM laptops and loaded them with its biometric verification software. Jasinski
recounted what ensued. “We mobilized the entire company, essentially, to be
able to get all the software devised and the computers configured. We rented
planes to fly the entire shipment down into Caracas. Then we distributed
it throughout the country. We did training. We had a central site in Caracas to which we sent all
the data, to do the matching and get the response back. The response
requirement was to have the searching done, for each voter, within 20 seconds.”
He was asked, with some trepidation, how it all worked out.

It was a real challenge,” Jasinski said, unnecessarily. “But the
system worked flawlessly.”

Clearly, Cogent Systems was in fighting
trim in 2004 and signs are strong that it intends to stay that way. The
US-VISIT program stands to benefit. “Given the number of people who visit the US, the scope of the
program is constantly being challenged by new users and new requests,” said
James Jasinski. “You have to be vigilant and make sure that your system is
constantly improving. We continually push our technology as to both speed and
 accuracy.”

James Jasinski

James Jasinski serves as executive vice
president for Cogent Systems Inc. (South Pasadena, California), with duties including
management of Cogent’s offices in Reston, Virginia; Dublin, Ohio; and Dallas, Texas. Projects supported
by these offices include the US-VISIT program which is the largest automated
fingerprint information system (AFIS) in the world (approximately 100 million
subjects) and which processes over 200,000 transactions a day. Jasinski’s
career has spanned the public and private sectors. From 1978 to 2000 he was a
Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, retiring as a member of
the Senior Executive Service. During his tenure with the FBI he was program
manager responsible for the delivery and implementation of the FBI’s integrated
automated identification system (IAFIS). Designated as a Presidential Priority
Program, IAFIS is the largest criminal master database in the world with over
50 million subjects and up to 135 thousand daily transactions. During this time
period Jasinski was also Chairman of Interpol’s AFIS Working Committee. Upon
retirement from the FBI in 2000, he became a vice president for DynCorp. He
joined Cogent in 2002. Jasinski holds his JD (1976) from Albany Law School, Union University. His BA (1973) is
from State University of New York at Buffalo.