Mobile, Ala., Police Department bolsters criminal identification efforts with automated solution
Rancho Cordova, CA — May 4, 2004 — It just goes to show that "supply and demand chain" solutions aren't always just for products or services — NEC Solutions (America) Inc., a provider of business intelligence solutions, today announced the successful deployment of its Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) at the Mobile, Ala., Police Department (MPD). NEC said the solution enhances the City of Mobile's ability to quickly and reliably identify crime scene prints and match them to city and state databases.
The NEC AFIS, installed earlier this year, yielded 36 "hits," or matches of latent prints, in its first 30 days of operation, compared with the City's earlier fingerprint identification system that yielded only 39 matches in over six years.
"NEC's Automated Fingerprint Identification System has paid significant and immediate dividends for the City of Mobile and its police department," said Lieutenant Joseph Rose of the MPD ID Unit. "The ability to coordinate our searches and records with those of the Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will not only accelerate the growth of our own database, but will also leverage the millions of prints already in the other databases. The net result will be more effective crime-fighting and a safer Mobile."
For the City of Mobile, the NEC AFIS arrived already loaded with electronically-converted fingerprint images from the ABI system, allowing the Mobile Police Department to immediately search known Mobile records and expand the search to the statewide database in the absence of "hits" at a local level.
The system at ABI then automatically forwards Mobile Police Department searches to the FBI. Both ABI and AFIS send notification back to the MPD with notice as to whether or not an identification has been made.
The "quick start" offered by the pre-loaded fingerprint images was enhanced by the system's ease of use, accuracy, and straightforward entry process, according to Lieutenant Rose. "We made more that 20 positive identifications of latent crime scene prints, all before receiving formal training," Lt. Rose said.
"We are thrilled at the success enjoyed to date by the City of Mobile and its Automated Fingerprint Identification System," said Barry Fisher, associate vice president, AFIS Division of NEC Solutions America. "Their results underscore what we have been hearing from customers for more than 20 years — namely, that NEC fingerprint identification solutions and technology are among the very best in the world."
