Mobile biometric device enables Florida police to identify high-quality fake passport

A recent arrest of an undocumented illegal alien holding a high-quality fake passport in Escambia County, Florida, demonstrates the value of mobile biometric capabilities for law enforcement, according to an announcement from Integrated Biometrics. During a routine traffic stop, a deputy sheriff was able to check the identity of a driver who held no valid driver’s license and instead offered a Mexican passport, against an AFIS database to determine the passport did not match the driver.

The deputy sheriff decided to verify the driver’s identity after witnessing erratic and evasive behavior, and checked the driver’s fingerprints with a DataWorks Plus Evolution mobile identification device, which features an Integrated Biometrics Columbo FAP 30 single-finger sensor. The device performs identity checks by cellular, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth, enabling the officer to perform the check while remaining in close proximity to the driver.

“The problem in the past was that you had to leave that person alone to get near the patrol car. By the time you came back, they’d have legged it,” says Murray Shaw, Systems Analyst for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. “These mobile biometric devices bring the rap sheet to the officer. There is no delay. The officer never leaves the suspect’s side and can slap the cuffs on them immediately. There’s no way the suspect can talk their way out of it if they’re wanted.”

A subsequent investigation showed the passport to be a forgery. IB says another example of the utility of the Evolution device is provided by the recent arrest of a suspect on an outstanding warrant after the individual provided different names at a hospital.

The Evolution was launched just over a year ago.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  identity verification  |  Integrated Biometrics  |  mobile device  |  police