achieving interoperability for latent fingerprint identification in the united states tania...
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Achieving Interoperability for Latent Fingerprint Identification
In The United States
Tania Simoncelli and Laura GerhardtOffice of Science and Technology Policy
Executive Office of the President
REPORT BACKGROUND
The place of science in the White House…
President
OSTP
Office of Management & Budget (OMB)
National Security Council (NSC)Council on
Environmental Quality
(CEQ)
National Economic Council (NEC)
Domestic Policy
Council (DPC)
EOP also includes Offices of: Vice President, Chief of Staff, Cabinet Affairs, Communications, Intergovernmental Relations, Public Engagement, Social Secretary, US Trade Representative, Energy & Climate Change, and more.
Council of Economic Advisors (CEA)
…is centered in the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
OSTP: two major responsibilitiesScience and technology for policy
Independent and objective advice for the President about S&T germane to all policy issues with which he is concerned
Policy for science and technologyAnalysis, recommendations, and coordination (in concert with other elements of the Executive Office of the President) on R&D budgets and related policies; S&T education and workforce issues, interagency S&T initiatives, scientific integrity, …
Advisory BodiesPresident's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
OSTP: National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Forensic Science–Assessed practical challenges and opportunities for implementing the
2009 NRC recommendations–Activities coordinated through 5 interagency working groups
• nearly 200 participants
• 23 Federal departments and agencies
• state and local government partners–Work Products
• Series of white papers summarizing work of the subcommittees (May 2014)
• Discipline-specific annotated bibliographies (currently under review by AAAS)
• AFIS interoperability report (October 2014)
5
2009 NRC Report, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (Recommendation 12)
•USG should launch a new “broad-based effort to achieve nationwide fingerprint data interoperability.”
Subcommittee on Forensic Science:AFIS Interoperability Task Force
•Goal: To coordinate the development and execution of a strategic plan to enhance AFIS interoperability in the United States.
Task Force Activities
• Determine current state of latent fingerprint interoperability–National Institute of Justice Latent Fingerprint Interoperability Survey
• Identify and assess challenges to achieving true latent fingerprint interoperability.
• Coordinate Federal efforts and leverage them for State and local law enforcement agencies.
• Make recommendations to OSTP through the Subcommittee on Forensic Science (SoFS).
Achieving Interoperability For Latent Fingerprint IdentificationIn The United States evolved out of the work of the Task Force.
KEY CONCEPTS
Use of Fingerprints in InvestigationsTen-prints contain fingerprint images of up to ten fingers captured by law enforcement, or private entities in a controlled environment.
Latent prints are fingerprints left by an unknown source and include those recovered from a crime scene or other item of evidence.
Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)• Use image-recognition algorithms to
generate a list of potential candidates that share similar fingerprint features to a submitted image.
• 10-print searches– Fully automated– Interoperability not a major concern
• Latent print searches– Fingerprint examiners manually
encode (“markup”) an image to indicate the locations of minutiae on a digital image of the print.
– Different AFIS software vendors have created different encoding methods and algorithms.
– This has created challenges for interoperability.
AFIS Work Station
EncodedLatent Fingerprint
Source: Screenshot from NIST EFS Training Tool
Minutiae Encoding Differences
System A System B
Defining Interoperability
“Interoperability” is the ability of two or more networks, systems, devices, applications, or components to work
seamlessly and electronically without any special effort to share information on demand, when needed, and as authorized
without loss of accuracy using standardized encoding.
“Enter Once, Search Many”
Benefits of AFIS Interoperability•Allows law enforcement agencies to search sets of
fingerprint records beyond those within their own jurisdiction
•Greater number of identifications • Improved examiner efficiency and effectiveness
–Uniform encoding practices–Reduced need to re-encode–Standardized training–Standardized annotation techniques for identification data
REPORT FINDINGS
Current AFIS sharing environment
Local
State
National FBI NGI
State “A”AFIS
Local “W” AFIS
Local “X”AFIS
State “B”AFIS
Local “Y” AFIS
Local “Z” AFIS
IDENTABIS
Interoperability among Federal agenciesFBI Next
Generation Identification (NGI)
DHS and DHS Automated Biometric
Identification System (IDENT)
DoD Automated Biometric
Identification System (ABIS)
Tran
slatio
n So
ftwar
e
DHS Re-encode ULW
Current AFIS sharing environment
Local
State
National FBI NGI
State “A”AFIS
Local “W” AFIS
Local “X”AFIS
State “B”AFIS
Local “Y” AFIS
Local “Z” AFIS
IDENTABIS
Current AFIS sharing environment
Local
State
National FBI NGI
State “A”AFIS
Local “W” AFIS
Local “X”AFIS
State “B”AFIS
Local “Y” AFIS
Local “Z” AFIS
IDENTABIS
AFIS interoperable environment
Local
State
National FBI NGI
State “A”AFIS
Local “W” AFIS
Local “X”AFIS
State “B”AFIS
Local “Y” AFIS
Local “Z” AFIS
IDENTABIS
Requirements for AFIS Interoperability
• Technical Compatibility
• Network Connectivity
• Proper Governance
• Performance Testing and Training
• Education and Outreach
Technical Compatibility
Extended Feature Set (EFS)
• Feature Definition:– Cores– Deltas– Center point of
reference– Dots– Ridge Path
Latent Interoperability Transmission Specification (LITS)
LITS Required Profiles Latent Image-Only Search
The image is properly cropped and submitted without markup or annotations.
Quick Minutiae Search
The latent print examiner must mark region of interest, minutiae, cores, deltas, pattern, and orientation.
LITS Optional Profiles Detailed Markup Profile
Ridge Flow Map is one of the features included as part of the detailed profile.
Technical CompatibilityRecent Progress:• Technical Compatibility has been mostly achieved through standards
development:–Extended Feature Set (EFS) – standard for minutiae definitions– Latent Interoperability Transmission Standard (LITS) – what is required to
send a latent print across systems from different vendors• Main challenge: standards implementation
Recommendations:• Achieve Federal LITS Compliance within 3 years• Support standards compliant acquisition and upgrades for State & local law
enforcement agencies• Continuously improve the standards through review and development of
conformance test protocols
Technical Compatibility Network Connectivity Proper Governance Performance Testing and Training Education and Outreach
Network ConnectivityRecent Progress:• State to FBI connectivity achieved through CJIS-WAN• FBI CJIS to begin to channel latent searches through State law
enforcement agencies by discontinuing direct latent connectivity services for local law enforcement agencies to FBI
Recommendations:• Expand CJIS-WAN to permit State-to-State connectivity• Provide technical assistance to improve local-to-State and local-to-
local connectivity
Technical Compatibility Network Connectivity Proper Governance Performance Testing and Training Education and Outreach
Proper GovernanceRecent Progress:• NIST has developed guidance on how to develop Memoranda of
Understanding• NIST has released an MOU template to facilitate interagency
agreements
Recommendations:• Develop strategies to coordinate the development of interstate local
AFIS governance agreements.• Promote existing resources on interagency agreements.• Conduct analysis of State and Federal privacy laws and policies that
impact fingerprint sharing across jurisdictions and identify opportunities coordinate the development of joint policies.
Technical Compatibility Network Connectivity Proper Governance Performance Testing and Training Education and Outreach
Performance Testing and TrainingRecent Progress:NIST has developed an EFS online training tool as an interactive guide to latent fingerprint markup. (www.nist.gov/forensics/EFSTrainingTool)
Recommendations:• Support training activities of LITS-compliant systems • Develop performance tests to assess the matching accuracy of
natively versus remotely encoded prints.• Develop and make available an automated tool to aggregate
candidate lists from multiple searches in one or more systems that could lead to improvements in efficacy and accuracy.
Technical Compatibility Network Connectivity Proper Governance Performance Testing and Training Education and Outreach
Education and OutreachRecent Progress:• National Institute of Justice Latent Fingerprint Interoperability
Survey
Recommendations• Expand efforts to evaluate LITS and EBTS implementation and
translate technical specifications into practice.• Interagency communication and coordination important for
promoting AFIS interoperability standards among Federal, State and local authorities.
Technical Compatibility Network Connectivity Proper Governance Performance Testing and Training Education and Outreach
Acknowledgments
• Melissa Taylor• Lauren Reed • Robin Jones• Terry Green• Mark Greene• Lisa Vincent• Michelle Meder• Anne May• Michael Garris
• Jo Handelsman• Martin Herman• Wesley Grose• John Clark• Charles Schaeffer• Michael Lesko• Randy Hanzlick• Leo Norton• Mark Zabinski
• Mark Stolorow• Kenneth Blue• Joe Polski• George Kiebuzinski• Peter Komarinski• Rachel Wallner• Austin Hicklin• John Mayer-Splain.
Draft Report Available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/library
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