FBI looks to expand biometrics interoperability across agencies
Top law enforcement agency hopes for better cooperation with DHS after the latter finalizes ten-print capture plans; new approach will permit integrating of future biometric modalities
Interoperability is not a problem for emergency responders alone. It is a problem when it comes to the transmission of information of any kind between two unfamiliar agencies — and too often familiar ones as well. Such is the complaint these days from the FBI, which is planning out the requirements for its so-called Next Generation Identification (NGI) biometric information system. “Dealing with other repositories has emerged as a major problem,” said the agency’s James Loudermilk, rerferring especially to DHS, which only recently decided to make the switch to the FBI’s ten-print gathering protocol. (Previously, DHS only took two prints.) Among the improved capabilities invisioned are: increased capacity, an upgraded fingerprint identification engine, and the capability to extend the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System to future biometrics such as DNA and gait recognition.
