eu-LISA launches first phase of the SIS II AFIS platform

The eu-LISA Internal Security Systems Sector has announced the successful launch of the first phase of the SIS II AFIS platform.

The platform enables the identification of a person from theirx fingerprints alone. The introduction of a biometric search capability in SIS II was achieved by eu-LISA in close cooperation with Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia. According to the announcement, these Member States showed interest and willingness to use biometric queries once deployed at the Central System level.

The goal of SIS II AFIS is to allow all the Member States to leverage a centralized policing-oriented database to strengthen the fight against crime within Europe. Using the platform to locate those who either lie about their identity or have changed it to avoid detection is paramount to Europe’s security.

SIS II AFIS Phase One began operation on March 5, 2018 at 10:00 PM CET. The entire project was performed without any deviation from the timescale and in full compatibility with the requests from eu-LISA’s governing bodies.

“This is an important milestone in the evolution of SIS II,” said Krum Garkov, Executive Director of eu-LISA. “With its new biometric search capabilities the system becomes an even more important platform for law-enforcement cooperation and information exchange. At the same time, this is a great achievement for the Agency as a whole, demonstrating again our agility and ability to deliver towards the needs of eu-LISA’s stakeholders.”

Article Topics

AFIS  |  biometrics  |  eu-LISA  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  identity verification