More details in US RFI for new criminal biometrics service

The U.S. government has updated its call for vendor input about a likely upgrade to biometric criminal-booking software.

Officials say outsourcing development and operations of a new system would save the government money. It also would likely raise objections among privacy advocates by putting the biometric data, including DNA, of residents in commercial hands.

The Department of Justice’s CIO wants to hear about contractor-owned and -operated biometric functions that are now part of separate DOJ automated-booking and civil-applicant applications.

Going away are the Joint Automated Booking System and Civil Applicant System. They are expected to be replaced by combined software called the Justice Biometric Identity Service.

JBIS would support 6,000 users in federal 400 agencies, processing 400,000 transactions per year. Those numbers are likely to grow.

It would relay criminal-ID requests, booking information and investigation notes as well as data collected from government-service applicants to relevant requesters.

Officials want better access to biometric data, including with mobile devices, and improved compliance with regulations for data collection.

The filing deadline remains the same: October 30.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Department of Justice  |  law enforcement  |  RFI  |  U.S. Government