Biometrics could be of great forensic help

A combination of three things — rising crime rate, industrial progress during the mid- to late nineteenth century, and a new approach to crime which said that first time offenders should be treated leniently while repeat offenders should be treated severely — gave rise to fingerprinting, a technology which would help the authorities identify habitual criminals who took advantage of anonymity offered by the new, large cities. It was Alphonse Bertillon who provided a solution — a method of identification based upon measuring various aspects of the human body and recording peculiar details, such as scars and tattoos. Bertillon thus created the first biometric tool for law enforcement. Philip Jones writes in Forenci Magazine

that “biometrics” means “to measure life,” and that is what modern biometric devices do: They measure and analyze an individual’s characteristics, ranging from physical traits — friction ridge patterns on hands, iris and facial structure, for example — to behavior-related characteristics such as voice dynamics and handwriting.

A biometric check can identify an individual or verify identity. “Identification is the ability to locate somebody in one-to-many searching,” explains James Jasinski, executive vice president of federal and state systems at South Pasadena, California-based Cogent Systems. “Verification tends to be more of a one-to-one application to confirm that you are in fact the person who you represent yourself to be.” Jasinski says that both of these terms apply to law enforcement applications. Following an arrest, police can verify the arrestee’s identity and determine if that person has a criminal record. A biometrics-based identification search may be necessary if the arrestee has disguised his or her identity.

What can biometrics do to help law enforcement? Rea Jones’s detailed discussion.