Biometric Identification
for
Efficiency and Security
James Jasinski
November 28, 2007
Agenda

Biometrics – Short History
-Eyewitness Identification
-Recidivist Mobility

Technology Evolution
-Alphonse Bertillon
-Bertillonage
-William/Will West Case

Biometric Implementation
-Fingerprint Identification
-Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
-Civil Uses and Mobile Technology
Biometrics – A Short History
Eyewitness Identification
Until the mid nineteen century primary method of
identification was:
•Eyewitness
•Description
•Documentation
Weaknesses:
•Move to where not known
•Alter his/her appearance – weight, hair, dress
•Change his/her name, date of birth, identity
number
Recidivist Mobility
These Challenges Continue Today:
The United States Terrorist Screening Center Director Leonard Boyle
testified:
•As long as the database uses names, descriptive data or
unsecured documents rather than biometrics to chronicle
suspected terrorists it remains vulnerable to fraudulent
identification.
•Biometrics are the surest way to verify travelers’ identity.
Technology Evolution
Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914)
•French Criminologist
•Created the first record keeping
system in order to identify
criminals.
Bertillonage
Bertillon
measured the
head, trunk,
shape and
formations of the
ear, eyebrows,
mouth, and eyes.
Bertillonage
Bertillon’s Speaking Portrait gave examiners further instruction
on the different features of identity.
West Case
William West
Bertillon Measurements
177.5: Body Height
188.0: Outstretched Reach of Both Arms
91.3: Trunk Height
19.8: Width of Head
15.9: Length of Head
14.8: Length of Right Ear
6.5: Width of Right Ear
27.5: Length of Left Foot
12.2: Length of Left Middle Finger
9.6: Length of Left Little Finger
1901 - William West received at the Leavenworth
Penitentiary
West Case
Will West
Bertillon Measurements
178.5: Body Height
187.0: Outstretched Reach of Both Arms
91.2: Trunk Height
19.7: Width of Head
15.8: Length of Head
14.8: Length of Right Ear
6.6: Width of Right Ear
28.2: Length of Left Foot
12.3:Lendth of Left Middle Finger
9.7: Length of Left Little Finger
1903 - Will West received at the Leavenworth
Penitentiary.
West Case
According to the Bertillonage System William West and Will West were the same
individual. All categories were within the acceptable variance allowance.
William West
Will West
Measurement
Differences
Body Height
177.5
178.5
.30
Outstretched Reach
of Both Arms
188.0
187.0
1.0
Trunk Height
91.3
91.2
.10
Width of Head
19.8
19.7
.10
Length of Head
15.9
15.8
.10
Length of Right Ear
14.8
14.8
0.0
Width of Right Ear
6.5
6.6
.10
Length of Left Foot
27.5
28.2
.70
Length of Left Middle
Finger
12.2
12.3
.10
Length of Left Little
Finger
9.6
9.7
.10
Biometric Implementation
Fingerprint Identification
•West case ushered in the era
of fingerprint identification.
•Fort Leavenworth Penitentiary
adopts this new technology.
•United States, United Kingdom
and Europe follow suit.
William West’s and Will West’s
Right thumb print
Juan Vucetich (1858-1925)

Head of the Statistical Bureau in
Argentina

Devised his own fingerprint
classification system.
Fingerprint Identification
First criminal ID using fingerprints (1892):
• Francesca Rojas found with injuries
• Her two sons found dead
• Neighbor accused of murder
• Bloody fingerprint found on doorway matching Francesca
Rojas
Fingerprint card
of Francesca Rojas
Fingerprint Identification
Fingerprint Evolution:
•Biometrics for Criminal and Civil Purposes
•Spread Around the World
•Relied on Ink and Paper
•Electronic Prints taken in Static Environments
•Mobile Prints taken in Transient Situations
Biometric Evolution
Three significant challenges for accuracy:
• Scalable modular systems
• Non-biometric based filtering
• Speed
Biometric Evolution
Today:


100% Biometric searching
- Minutia is more accurate than pattern
Real Time Speed
- FBI System – designed for 1 search per second
- US Visit – currently performing 8 searches per second
- Venezuela – conducted 400 searches per second
Biometric Evolution

Fingerprint matching is a symmetrical process
– Match is based upon the database and the search print having
same characteristics

Higher level discrepancies can disqualify a print prematurely

This limits system accuracy

The FBI’s Jeremy Jones/ John Paul Chapman miss

Released when computerized fingerprint check did not turn up a
warrant for more serious crimes

Committed series of crimes after the miss
– 4 known murders after release
Fingerprint Identification
•Biometric technology eliminated the ability to
disguise oneself.
•Mobile technology has caught up with
a criminal’s mobility.
•Real time response times.
Inked Print
Electronic Print
Electronic Mobile
Print
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
•Ralph McLean - killed
two police officers in DC.
•May 28th 1995 McLean was
stopped in NC for speeding.
•McLean’s name was
searched against a local
database.
•11 hours later McLean
shot FBI agent
William Christian in
Maryland.
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
A Preventable Crime - What could have happened.
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
•Ralph McLean - commits
murder in DC.
•May 28th 1995 pulled over in
NC for speeding.
•McLean’s fingerprints are
searched against a
centralized fingerprint
databank.
•Mclean is arrested.
•William Christian is not killed
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
LAW ENFORCEMENT EXAMPLES

Parolee Compliance

Warrant Enforcement

Field Citation and Release

Football/Soccer Event Security

Jail Management

Undocumented Aliens

Drunk Driver Enforcement

Gang Violence Suppression Unit

Drug Enforcement

Stolen Vehicles

Violent Crime Reduction

Immigration
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
Illegal Entry and Document Identification
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
In the first 12 months collected biometric data reduced the flow of
illegal migration by nearly 50% in the waters between Port Rico and
the Dominican Republic.
•Water resistant hand held scanners
•Information sharing between
Homeland Security and US-Visit
•Satellite hook up
•Results available in 2-5 minutes
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
Characteristics of Different Fingerprint
devices:
• COTS PDA Phone
• Bluetooth technology for the
•
•
•
•
•
•
wireless transfers
Submission via GPRS,
GPRS/EDGE
Mugshot acquisition
Compact and Light-weight
Easy-to-use interface
The flexibility to handle NIST
standard transaction over a
wireless network
Iris and Facial Imaging
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
Wired
Mobile
Device
TCP/IP
Commercial Laptop with
WebID web client
Wired/Wireless
Mobile
Device
TCP/IP
Commercial PDA with
MobileID host software
WiFi 802.11g
Wireless
AFIS
NIST Standard Transaction
Full WSQ Fingerprint image
E-mail/ FTP delivery /TCP/IP
TDMA, CDMA, GSM,GPRS
Depending on Host model
Mobile Device
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
Hooliganism
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
2000

Copa João Havelange - fighting between rival supporters caused
a fence to collapse leading to 60 injuries.
2002

Campinas - violence broke out inside a stadium causing a railing
to collapse leading to 30 injuries.

Avellaneda – one fan killed and another seriously wounded when
400 rivals fought outside racing clubs before a match.
2005

Footballer seriously wounded when police tried to stop a riot by
firing rubber bullets.
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
Britain’s National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS)
said “law enforcement was engaged in a technology
race to keep up with hooligans.”
Hooligans now use sophisticated methods:
•Cell Phones
•Pagers
•Organizing over the Internet
Law Enforcement and Mobile Technology
US Marines in Afghanistan advised the Navy Research Advisory
Committee:
•Collecting and processing at a checkpoint quickly to avoid insurgent
sniper fire
•Biometrics are a quick method to reliably tell “friend from foe,”
•For forensic investigations of IED .
•Deployable labs provide round the clock connectivity.
Civil Uses and Mobile Technology
CIVIL EXAMPLES

Voting

Banks

Welfare

Physical Access

Certificates of Good Conduct

Logical Security

Passport

Biological and Biochemical Detection
Civil Uses and Mobile Technology
Applying algorithms for biological and biochemical detection
applications
•
•
For terrorist or natural disasters, can detect biochemical contaminants in
water supplies
Supports portable field applications as well as long-term 24/7 monitoring of
water sources for biohazards
-Bio-defense detection targets include biological agents such as vaccinia,
ricin, botulinum toxin and B. anthrax spores
Civil Uses and Mobile Technology

Applying algorithms for analysis
of human biological fluids
– Applications include drug discovery,
medicine research and disease
diagnostics

Diagnotic targets include various
cykotines such as Vascular Cell
Adhesion Molecule-1 (VCAM-1),
Interferon-g (IFN-g), Interleukin-6
(IL-6), and Interleukin-10 (IL-10)
in human plasma, blood, urine
and other body fluids.

Support remote diagnosis via the
Internet

Potential applications for
hospitals, laboratories and home
use
Civil Uses and Mobile Technology
Civil Implementations:

A steep increase for criminal history background checks during in
the late 1990s.

Employers waited weeks or months to receive the results of a
request.

Most requests for criminal history background checks were
submitted by mail.

Significant manual effort involved in handling the requests.
Civil Uses and Mobile Technology
Submit Transactions: Fingerprint images and demographics
are encrypted and submitted to the State AFIS and subsequently
to the FBI AFIS (IAFIS)
FBI IAFIS
(1) Using a National WebCheck system,
users submit 10 flat fingerprint
impressions in the form of two slaps and
two thumbs. The System also accepts
entry of all required data elements for
fingerprint-based background checks.
(4) FBI IAFIS is
searched and results
are returned to the
submitting agency.
(2) Only transactions from
authenticated users pass
through the firewall.
WAN
CJIS Router
National WebCheck Systems
National WebCheck Systems include a
livescan fingerprint capture device, a PC
or laptop, and an optional printer
CJIS WAN
Firewall
(5) Transaction Server
provides transaction
results to submitting
National WebCheck
Client Workstations.
Transaction Server
(3) Transaction Server sends a
NIST record including 14 flat
fingerprint impressions in the
form of 10 flat fingerprints, two
slaps and two thumbs as well as
all EFTS 7.0 required data
elements to FBI AFIS (IAFIS).
Civil Uses and Mobile Technology
Current Process for the Certificate of Good Conduct:

Employers subscribe to a webbased fingerprint imaging
service.

Install hardware and software
with a simple set of instructions.

Log onto the service for
enrollment.

Submit requests for criminal
history background checks to
the automated fingerprint
identification system (AFIS).
Civil Uses and Mobile Technology
Benefits of Web-based Fingerprint Imaging System

Inexpensive

Search from Any Location

Ease of Use

Quicker Response Times

Employment Begins After Background Check
Conclusion

Biometrics provide certainty of identification

Technology
– Speed, Accuracy, Electronic

Criminal/Civil/Commercial
– Static or Dynamic