InCadence to supply mobile biometric fingerprint scanners for Orange County police

It will soon become much easier for law enforcement officers of Orange County in California, United States, to verify the identity of arrestees and detainees using mobile fingerprint biometric scanners.

OC Register reports that the technology will be deployed by Virginia-based InCadence Strategic Solutions for a $1 million-a-year contract that will run for a period of three years, with the possibility of renewing it seven times on one-year terms. The number of devices to be given to each agency is still being determined, the report adds.

Mobile fingerprint biometric scanners from InCadence feature the company’s Javelin hardware and its Ares mobile biometric software, which is also used by the FBI. The basic Javelin model is the device contracted, but the software and mobile devices provided will also be compatible with the Javelin+ and JavelinXL, which also provide iris biometrics capabilities. Javelin devices incorporate fingerprint scanners from Integrated Biometrics.

As per the deal, InCadence will supply between 450 and 500 of the fingerprint scanning devices to Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies and city police officers for their field work. The process is due to begin by the end of 2021, according to the OC Register.

The development is said to have raised eyebrows with some county residents expressing fears that the device will be used to identify and arrest people during protests.

OC authorities have refuted the claims saying the mobile biometric scanners will be used to identity only those who are legally required by law to identify themselves to law enforcement officers. Also, it will be able to identity only those who had been arrested before, and whose fingerprint details are with the police or other law enforcement bodies. Fingerprint data collected on the devices will not be stored.

“They’re primarily for identifying individuals. If they got arrested in the past, their information will be in the system,” the report quoted Bruce Houlihan, Director of OC Crime Lab, as assuring the public.

Sheriff’s Sergeant Dennis Breckner explained the functionality of the device. “The way it works now …., we put them in the car, we get as much booking information as we can. We take their fingerprint card, take them to the jail and run the card … and see if it comes up with the person’s name,” he said.

This is not the first time California law enforcement officers are using mobile fingerprint scanning devices. The Anaheim Police Department has also been using similar BlueCheck mobile fingerprint scanning devices, which are supplied by Thales, for close to 10 years, according to the report and both the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have also used BlueCheck in the past, OC Register recalls.

InCadence was acquired by Xator Corporation earlier this year.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  fingerprint scanners  |  identity verification  |  InCadence Strategic Solutions  |  police