FBI updates legislators on new biometric technologies developing in Clarksburg

FBI officials briefed Virginia state legislators with the Joint Committee on Technology this week at the FBI Center in Harrison County, West Virginia as part of a three-day interim session, according to a report by West Virginia Metro News.

In a presentation, Stephen Morris, assistant director of the Criminal Justice Information Services Division, discussed the division’s work with the Next Generation Identification program.

The program integrates research into biometric identification in an effort to curb terrorist and criminal activities by enhancing identification methods and criminal history information services.

One of its most crucial improvements is in the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System service, whose reported accuracy has increased from around 26 percent in 1999 to somewhere between 70 and 80 percent today.

As a result of this success, many representatives from foreign countries are visiting the center to witness it firsthand.

Morris also discussed how the FBI has teamed up with the Department of Defense to begin construction on a new 360,000-square foot Biometrics Center, which is set to open in 2015.

As soon the two organizations have implemented biometrics in the facility, they will bring in more agencies and employees to the area.

“What we learned today, is the FBI continues to evolve in West Virginia,” said Delegate Randy Swartzmiller (D-Hancock, 01). “They’re not complacent with old software and old ways of doing business. They continue to grow to be a world leader out there.”

Article Topics

AFIS  |  biometrics  |  counter-terrorism  |  criminal identity management  |  Department of Defense  |  FBI  |  fingerprint identification  |  identification  |  NGI