A Billion Dollars for Biometrics

The FBI Biometric Center of Excellence is currently working on a Next Generation Identification (NGI) system that will combine iris scans, facial imaging, palm prints and fingerprint identification technologies in one, multi-dimensional system. The platform is intended to succeed the outdated Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) put in place in 1999.

The cost on this ten-year investment? A small price tag of $1 billion dollars.

Plans for NGI include increased fingerprint storage capacity and accelerated fingerprint processing times for high priority criminals, as well as the creation of a special database of names, which will include sexual offenders, wanted persons and terrorists.

"NGI will give us bigger, better, faster capabilities and lead us into the future. We have added additional capabilities to our current system, and are working with the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, and the International law enforcement community in making our communities safer," said Thomas E. Bush, Assistant Director of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division.

Of course, privacy concerns abound in relation to the amount of personal data stored and collected on average American citizens. The FBI Web site proactively addresses these concerns and notes that the NGI system refuses to expand the categories of people from whom they collect data already, but will rather collect additional data on criminals and terrorists. As Bush said, "The privacy and security of the system is extremely important and we have to ensure the relationship with privacy advocacy groups, and make sure it's not accessible to unauthorized persons."

Eternal viligance.