The mobile biometric solution is helping the Swiss Federal Police control border areas (and major train stations) during UEFA Euro 2008, which ‘kicked-off’ on Saturday. It allows officers to capture fingerprints of individuals. The AFIS solution then makes use of wireless technology to instantly cross-check the biometric with Switzerland’s existing AFIS database. This in turn allows officers to discreetly screen individuals and identify them if they have previously been deported.
The Canton Police and border security officersare able to fingerprint individuals using a standard PDA running Motorola’s mobile AFIS software, which is connected to a fingerprint capture device. Several of these solutions have been deployed throughout Switzerland. “Mobile AFIS enables us to operate quickly and discreetly in busy and crowded areas,” said Mark Hess, spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Police. “It’s an ideal solution for targeted border control, helping to protect citizens and visitors. An event like EURO 2008, when our borders will be much busier than normal, is a good example of how much flexibility a mobile solution can provide.”
“Mobility is about retaining the flexibility of those in the field while simultaneously giving them access to the powerful technology that resides in the back office. In this case it gives border control officials an instant way to discreetly screen individuals against existing records. Someone who has been previously deported, for example, can now be easily and accurately identified anytime, any place,” said Manuel Torres, vice-president and general manager, Motorola Government and Public Safety, EMEA.
Images as opposed to minutiae
“We believe this is the first mobile biometric project in Europe which captures fingerprint images, as opposed to using fingerprint minutiae. This will allow Switzerland to be totally interoperable with the rest of Europe,” continued Torres.
The Swiss National Police – known locally as the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) – was the first organisation in Europe to implement a centralised, automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) in 1984. A Motorola AFIS system was installed to great effect, resulting in a massive reduction in the time it took to search the fingerprint database manually during criminal investigations. Since 2002, Motorola’s technology has been deployed at border control points across the country, and this latest project is about keeping the police where they need to be for more of the time.