The South African Police Service (SAPS) has introduced a new mobile fingerprint-scanning device that will allow police to identify known criminals on the spot.
The device, known as the MorphoTouch, is a mobile fingerprint scanning tool that houses up to 50 000 fingerprints locally and which can be connected to the central police Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) database housing more than 4.5 million criminal fingerprints.
AFIS replaces the manual system that has been used by the police for more than 100 years. With the manual system, personnel at the Criminal Record Centre had to physically compare fingerprints found on a scene with the sets of hard copy fingerprints.
SAPS senior superintendent Pine Pienaar says the introduction of the MorphoTouch is "part and parcel of an overall implementation of an Automated Fingerprint Identification System".
Pienaar, who is project manager for the AFIS system, says the MorphoTouch is manufactured by French company Sagem, and can be used in both a connected or non-connected mode.
In non-connected mode, a "subset of the wanted database is downloaded to the device," with up to 50 000 fingerprints housed locally. In connected mode, the MorphoTouch can be connected to the central AFIS system using either a static network point or a cellphone connection.
In non-connected mode, the MorphoTouch can complete a database query within five seconds, while in connected mode, a full database search can take between five and ten minutes depending on network connections. The AFIS system is limited to criminal fingerprints and legislation prohibits access to civil databases.
Pienaar says "contractually we are guaranteed an accuracy rate of 98% with the device ... but in practice the accuracy rate is closer to 98.5%," a rate comparable with the AFIS system as a whole.
The 20cm MorphoTouch uses software customised to include a number of preset search filters, including gender and population groups or combinations of these.
"The MorphoTouch can also be configured to be used as a smart card reader as well as a credit card verification system," says Pienaar, although these features have not been included in the current implementation.
A pilot project for the MorphoTouch will run from the beginning of April and is expected to last for a month. During the pilot, the device will be used primarily in "special operations" such as roadblocks as well as at port of entry checkpoints. Pienaar says the MorphoTouch will also be tested in courtroom scenarios in an effort to ensure the correct prosecution of individuals.
The initial SAPS deal includes ten MorphoTouch units and once the pilot project is completed, a decision will be taken on further units.
The MorphoTouch is currently also in use by the UK police force as well as in Nigeria.
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