Forensic investigators have been collecting palm prints for over two years but national searching has not been possible until now. The introduction of Palm Searching means that palm prints, which can account for 20% of all crime scene marks, can be matched against a national database.
The capability is the first major software extension of Ident1, the country’s biometric technology platform, and has already met with some notable success. Northamptonshire Police made their first positive identification within minutes of using the Palm Searching capability, while Humberside Police have reported 20 hits since implementing the system at the beginning of the month.
Fred Preston, director of identification at PITO, said: We are delighted to hear that Palm Searching is already delivering real business benefits to the police. Ident1 aims to provide fingerprint bureaux across the country with the state-of-the-art tools to help tackle the daily business of solving crime.
