Characteristics of Electronic Fingerprinting Used As Forensic Tools

Electronic fingerprinting has taken over from the traditional ink-and-paper method.

Anyone who's watched "CSI" or any other forensics-based TV show recognizes the importance that electronic fingerprinting is having in the world of law enforcement, allowing a local police force instant access to cross-check fingerprints with national and international databases. As part of the burgeoning market for forensics technology, electronic fingerprinting continues to streamline everything from criminal investigations to background checks.

Electronic Fingerprinting

Part of the emerging field of biometrics --- the use of technology to capture and measure biological data such as DNA, eye retinas and facial characteristics --- electronic fingerprinting uses a specialized scanning machine to capture a digital image of a fingerprint, a far cry from the ink and paper of the past. The entire process takes anywhere from three to five minutes. Electronic fingerprints are used for a wide variety of purposes beyond law enforcement, ranging from background checks for employment applications to use in U.S. travel visas.

Fingerprinting and Law Enforcement

Since no two fingerprints are identical, fingerprinting has a been used in law enforcement for more than 100 years to identify criminals, and fingerprinting remains the most commonly used forensic evidence throughout the world. Now that technological advances have allowed for the digitization of fingerprints, the largest Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIA) repository in the United States is operated by the Department of Homeland Security's US Visit Program, which contains fingerprints of more than 100 million people.

Benefits of Electronic Fingerprinting

The scanning machine --- sometimes called a live scan machine --- may be able to perform a variety of functions with the captured fingerprint, such as printing out a card with the fingerprints displayed, adding fingerprints to ID cards or simply storing the data. The most important feature, however, is that this data can be sent out electronically to be cross-referenced and matched with other databases. A process that once took weeks or even months with paper-based fingerprints can now be turned around in as little as 24 hours.

New and Growing Markets

According to a research report by Business Communications Company Inc., the American market for forensic technologies (including electronic fingerprinting) is estimated to exceed $17 billion by 2013, nearly double what the market was worth in 2007. Furthermore, the report states that fingerprinting is continually moving away from the traditional ink-based methods as new biometric technologies receive wider acceptance, and this trend is poised to continue, with electronic fingerprinting/biometrics estimated to account for $2 billion in annual sales by 2013.

References

• Electronic Fingerprinting, Inc.: F.A.Q.
• Search-Security.com: Definition - Biometrics
• Onin.com: The History of Fingerprints
• E Scan Fingerprinting: Electronic Fingerprinting?
• BCC Research: Forensic Technologies: New and Growing Markets