FBI Biometric Center of Excellence: FBI Initiatives

FBI Initiatives

The FBI offers a wide variety of resources, information, and products for use by the biometrics community. We encourage you to explore this web site to learn more about the FBI’s major biometric initiatives.

Biometric Interoperability Program

This program promotes biometric-based information sharing between the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) and other federal, state, and international biometric systems.

Interoperability one-page flyer

Combined Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Index System (CODIS)

The FBI maintains the largest DNA repository in the world, the National DNA Index System (NDIS), which contains more than 9,404,747 offender profiles and 361,176 forensic profiles as of February 2011. NDIS facilitates the exchange and comparison of DNA profiles at the national level. It is the highest of three tiers supported by CODIS. CODIS is an automated DNA information processing and telecommunications system which has produced more than 138,700 hits, assisting in more than 133,400 law enforcement investigations as of February 2011. CODIS blends forensic science and computer technology into an effective tool for crime solving. DNA analysis is increasingly used to successfully solve crimes and identify missing persons. For additional information, please visit the Laboratory Division’s web site or view information on CODIS.

Facial Recognition/Identification

The Biometric Center of Excellence (BCOE) was created to support the FBI’s overall biometrics mission and the major programs and initiatives that comprise the portfolio of services. One biometric initiative involves facial recognition/identification capabilities. Facial recognition involves the automated searching of a facial image in a computer database, typically resulting in a group of facial images ranked by similarity. Facial identification is the manual examination of the differences and similarities between two facial images for the purpose of determining whether they represent different persons or the same person.

The FBI’s facial recognition program, led by the Operational Technology Division, provides guidance and valuable lead information to support criminal and national security investigations and missions. The FBI has been involved with facial comparisons for identification purposes for more than 50 years and continues to pursue automated facial biometric capabilities.

FBI Operational Technology Division

Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG)

In February 2009, the BCOE established a new scientific working group focusing exclusively on facial identification. The FISWG’s mission is “to develop consensus standards, guidelines, and best practices for the discipline of image-based comparisons of human features, primarily face, as well as to provide recommendations for research and development activities necessary to advance the state of science in this field.” Participants include representatives from federal, state, local, and international agencies, as well as scientists, practitioners, and persons from the research and academic communities. The FISWG also develops resources to educate and inform law enforcement and intelligence communities through workshops and conferences and collaborates with other Scientific Working Groups and bodies, as well as the research and academic communities.

The FISWG’s first official meeting was held in June 2009 and was attended by 47 participants, including representatives from nine state and local agencies, 10 federal agencies, three international agencies, and three nongovernment organizations. The second meeting was held in October 2009 with 56 participants, including representatives from 13 state and local agencies, 12 federal agencies, five international agencies, and four nongovernment organizations. During these meetings, many key objectives were accomplished, including approval of the FISWG bylaws, election of officers, establishment of several subcommittees, and development of preliminary reference information. For additional information, please visit the following:

FBI “Latent Hit of the Year” Award

At the request of the law enforcement community, the FBI developed the “Latent Hit of the Year” award program. The award is presented annually to an outstanding latent examiner or officer who solved a major violent crime using the FBI’s IAFIS database. The “Latent Hit of the Year” award winner is officially recognized at the International Association for Identification Summer Conference, and his or her success story is shared through various law enforcement publications and media. A trailer video provides more detail about the program, and individual videos showcase the stories behind the major cases solved by past winners. If you are interested in submitting a success story for consideration as “Latent Hit of the Year,” contact the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division at FBILatentHit@leo.gov.

FBI “Latent Hit of the Year” Trailer Video The trailer video introduces the award, the past winners, and the FBI resources and technology used to solve the cases. The FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Assistant Director, Daniel Roberts is featured and summarizes the award’s purpose: “Those [officers and latent examiners] are unsung heroes, and one of the things we’ve tried to do with the “Latent Hit of the Year” is to identify those heroes and give them some recognition for solving crimes. Crimes that in some cases go back several decades.”	You need to upgrade your flash player to watch this video.
2010 “Latent Hit of the Year” Award Video In 1971, Gerald Jackson was found murdered at his home in San Diego, California. Despite the crime scene evidence gathered, the crime went cold for nearly 40 years. Thirty seven years later, San Diego Police Department's Detective John Tefft, Latent Print Examiner Gloria Pasqual, and Crime Scene Specialist Dorie Savage reopens the case. Watch the video to see how they solved the cold case.	You need to upgrade your flash player to watch this video.
2009 “Latent Hit of the Year” Award Video In October 1978, a Sarasota, Fla., resident was found stabbed to death in his home. As investigators exhausted all leads, the case became cold and a killer remained at large. Thirty years later, the Sarasota Police Department’s Detective Pat Robinson and Crime Scene Manager Jocelyn Masten re-opened the case. Watch the video to see how they solved the cold case.	You need to upgrade your flash player to watch this video.
2008 “Latent Hit of the Year” Award Video In May 1977, the Escondido Police Department in California responded to a crime scene where an unidentified male was found brutally beaten to death in the garage of a residential construction site. Despite the crime scene evidence gathered, no suspects were ever found, and the case remained unsolved. In 2007, Detectives Chuck Gaylor and Norm White resumed the investigation and with the help of the Sacramento Department of Justice, Latent Print Analyst Hoi Lui, justice was finally served. Watch the video to see how they solved this 30-year-old homicide.	You need to upgrade your flash player to watch this video.
2007 “Latent Hit of the Year” Award Video In the small town of Big Rapids, MI., a crime shocked the small community when a 89-year-old woman was found brutally murdered on her bedroom floor. In December of 2006, more than 30 years after that horrific murder, Michigan State Police Examiner Greg Michaud reopens the cold case. Watch the video to see how he solved this 30 year old cold case.	You need to upgrade your flash player to watch this video.

Fiscal Year 2011 FBI Biometric Priorities

The FBI BCOE established the Biometric Investment Priorities to identify the FBI’s biometric priorities and establish a common set of evaluation criteria to objectively prioritize and rank projects for funding. By establishing biometric priorities, the FBI is able to communicate the specific areas of importance to stakeholders. These priorities serve an important role in ranking biometric initiatives considered for possible resource allocation. The Fiscal Year 2011 biometric priorities are:

Extend Operational Capabilities
Strengthen Forensic Science and Advance Biometrics
Lead Biometrics in Law Enforcement
Shape the Development of Biometric Technologies to Improve National Security
Protect Privacy and Foster Training, Education, and Outreach.

IAFIS

IAFIS is a national fingerprint and criminal history system maintained by the FBI’s CJIS Division. For additional information on IAFIS, please visit the following web site.

Next Generation Identification (NGI) Program

The NGI program offers state-of-the-art biometric identification services and compiles core capabilities that serve as a platform for multimodal functionality. For additional information on NGI, please visit the following web sites.

Training

The FBI offers biometric training. Click on the links below to learn more:

Voice Recognition

The FBI’s voice recognition program has provided investigators with important leads in investigative casework for almost half a century. This program, led by the Operational Technology Division, works to identify individuals by their voices in order to provide investigative guidance to FBI Field Offices, as well as other local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies. Recognizing the potential of voice recognition, the FBI has funded applied research and development projects for more than a decade to achieve its long-term goal of automating voice biometric capabilities.

FBI Operational Technology Division

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