Development of a technologically advanced IT system enabling automated processing of information collected in forensic biometric databases in order to combat crime or identify people

Abstract

Forensic biometric databases are an out of court tool to support the work of law enforcement agencies. They are used to detect the perpetrators of crimes, indicate the connections of a person with previously committed crimes, and allow the identification of living persons and corpses with unknown identity or individuals trying to hide their identity. In police practice, among the methods of identification of living persons and corpses, fingerprint and DNA tests are mainly used. These two forensic areas are supported by such tools such as AFIS (Automatic Fingerprint Identification System) and CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). These are the main police systems operating within two datasets, namely the dactyloscopic dataset and the DNA dataset. The systems are operating in two different locations of the Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police (CFLP). This results in the processing of individual biometric data independently of each other at different times and locations (Fingerprint Examination Department and Biology Department). Currently, there is no comprehensive approach to the collection and processing of biometric data such as fingerprints, DNA or facial images. To improve the exchange of information between police authorities, in July 2019, the Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police submitted a project application, and on 25 November 2019 signed with the National Center for Research and Development the grant agreement no. DOB – BIO10/09/01/2019 for the implementation and financing of the project in the area of state defense and security (competition no. 10/2019) entitled “Development of a technologically advanced information system enabling automated processing of information collected in forensic biometric databases for the purpose of combating crime or identifying people – acronym “BIOMETRIA”.