HID puts biometric scanners in 500 São Paulo civil police stations

HID’s biometric tenprint scanner has been deployed by law enforcement at 500 police stations throughout São Paulo for identity verification and criminal booking. In a case study, HID details how the Civil Police of the State of São Paulo activated a “comprehensive biometrics-based identification system called BioKit, featuring HID’s tenprint scanner.”

In a blog to be posted on HID Biometrics’ website, the company says the São Paulo police, Brazil’s largest state police force, “recognized the potential of biometrics to battle significant challenges in criminal bookings and identification.” A major obstacle it faced was Brazil’s “fragmented identity system.” Each of Brazil’s 27 states had its own siloed program, which enabled widespread identity fraud and the creation of multiple identities to facilitate illegal activity, as well as general erosion of the public trust. Manual fingerprinting was no longer cutting the mustard as a biometric solution.

Enter the HID tenprint scanner: deployed in concert with hardware from IT company Golden Distribuidora, the BioKit integration is “designed to quickly capture flat and rolled fingerprints for background checks and identity validation programs,” certified to FAP 60 0n FBI Appendix F. A biometric check against the central Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) lets police know whether there is a match that warrants further investigation, or if new biometrics are being enrolled.

This, say police, reduces the time needed for criminal bookings from nearly a week to minutes. “What used to take 4 to 5 days is now done in minutes using the BioKit system and HID fingerprint technology,” says Dr. Luiz Ortiz, chief delegate for the Civil Police of the State of São Paulo. “Our agents can accurately identify or onboard suspects, and each new biometric enrollment into the centralized ABIS contributes to strengthening our country’s overall identity system and ability to bring about justice faster and smarter.”

HID says the tenprint scanner is easy to use thanks to pictographs and LED indicators that simplify processes, and has an optional silicone membrane to improve image quality for dry or damaged skin.

Per the case study, “additional use cases for the BioKit + HID tenprint scanner, beyond criminal  bookings, include border control, background checks, correctional centers, courtrooms, voter registration and national ID programs.”

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  Brazil  |  criminal ID  |  fingerprint scanners  |  HID  |  police