Live Scan Technology Issues - Term Paper Example

LIVE SCAN My Introduction Live Scan is a new system based on latest technology for collecting the fingerprints of individuals electronically. This technique allows the officials to record fingerprints without involving the rolling of fingers with ink on paper. This technology uses capturing of high quality images of fingerprints and storing them in electronic databases. These images can then be shared electronically with the departments requiring them. The process is very quick as it requires a few seconds to capture the images and store them. More importantly the sharing of such fingerprints is very fast which traditionally would take a lot of time. These services are generally required by the police department to keep records and track criminals. This service has also been used in airports throughout to quickly get the details of passengers and immigrants. This service is however also utilized by universities and other departments for checking employee records before employments. This information to these departments is usually available through Department of Justice (DOJ). Live Scan: Technology overview Live scan uses the advanced digital photography methods to capture the images of fingerprints. For this the person needs to press his or her fingers on a screen or scanner. The image is scanned, captured and stored in electronic form on computer databases. Thus the whole process is somewhat similar to the scanning of documents in a scanner and storing the captured images on the computer in the form of a file. Scanning fingerprints however needs some special type of scanners. As these scans are stored in computers, it becomes easy to analyze the fingerprints without much hassle. These can be then shared with any departments around the world as it is easy to send the files through computer networks. "Live scan instruments must be able to collect fingerprints from a wide cross section of people-including those with very fine, worn, scarred or cracked fingerprint ridges and varying degrees of skin moisture content." (Cross Match Technologies, 2007). Most of the instruments provide scans for well ridged fingerprints giving very low quality scans for people with dry skin and other problems. This makes it very difficult to identify such fingerprints. Younger people are well suited for live scan fingerprints as they generally have healthy skin with no such problems to hinder the fingerprinting process. For people with too dry or too moist skin there is a problem in capturing the scans. For this purpose silicone membranes have been developed which are in the form of transparent sheets. These sheets are kept on the screen of the instrument and fingers are pressed against the sheet. This membrane helps in enhancing ridges of the fingers thereby providing well defined scans for people with varied moisture content in their skin. There is another problem faced by these instruments and that is of very high volume scans due to which the fingerprints often get mixed up. This problem is also addressed by these silicone membranes. The membranes last for very long and when they need replacement it is very easy to peel them off and place a new one without taking any time. Other advantages include the protection of the capturing screen of the instrument as the membrane is placed on it. Another it is very easy to clean the membrane once it gets dirty. There is no need of application of any liquid or special cloth to clean it. It is done simply by placing a tape on it so that the dirt or any oils, etc. stick to it and get away making the membrane ready to be used again. Although most of the instruments use optical scanning technique in live scan systems, there have been recent developments in this field prompting the use of ultrasonic technique for the same. The fingerprints using ultrasonic systems have been seen to be of better quality than the optical ones. The ultrasonic technique again addresses the same problems of varied moisture content in the skin. In addition to that it also allows scanning fingers in cases of dirt accumulation on fingers or on the screen. This technique uses ultrasound signals to detect the surface of skin instead of light. It makes the signal incident on the skin and receives back the echo. This echo gives the details of roughness of the skin and hence the fingerprints. The development of piezoelectric transducers makes it possible to manufacture scanners based on this technology at very low costs. Some of the benefits of using ultrasound technology are that: A) The use of ultrasounds has been found to have no harmful effect on the body of the individual. B) We get a 500 dpi resolution of the image which is quite high. C) Sensitivity is 8 bit grey scale. D) A very high contrast image is achieved. E) The skin contamination has no effect on the fingerprints. Dry skin problems are also of no concern. F) Required image enhancement/processing is very much reduced as compared to the optical images. Live scan: Benefits Fingerprints are essential especially in departments like police. It is an old method used to identify the individuals and is thus very important. "Live Scan systems provide a means for individuals to produce consistent, high quality fingerprint images, thereby reducing rejection rates and saving time and money in processing and other related administrative costs" (California live scan fingerprinting authority, n.d.). The live scan captures the fingerprints directly in image form very quickly and efficiently. It does not require any papers to store them. The paper has a limited life and the marks on it become smudged after sometime due to excessive handling which sometimes results in repeating the whole process causing a great deal of trouble to the individuals. Moreover the transfer of the prints to some other place is very cumbersome in traditional ways. This results in great deal of delays in the process of getting criminal clearances of the employees, etc. Live scan will do the same job within minutes avoiding unnecessary delays. Conclusion In this digital world the speed at which matters are processed is very important. People today have limited time at their hands and they want to save as much of their time as possible. In such a scenario it is not logical to carry on with the old methods of police verifications taking months altogether. This would waste a lot of time of people, which is equivalent to money. Today technology is associated with every job in the world and policing is no different. Live scan provides a very rapid, efficient and trusted way to get the fingerprints which is critical to policing. The ease associated with live scan is an important factor. It is easy to scan, store and distribute the fingerprints in this way. The live scan technology is by every means a revolution in fingerprinting. References California live scan fingerprinting authority (n.d.), FAQ. Retrieved November 24, 2008 from http://www.cafingerprintingauthority.com/FAQ.html CROSS MATCH TECHNOLOGIES (May 2007), Livescan Fingerprint Collection with Silicone Membranes. Retrieved November 24, 2008 from www.infosecurityproductsguide.com/technology/2007/Industry_White_Paper_Silicone_Membranes_5_25_07.pdf UCSC (October 14, 2007), LIVE SCAN FINGERPRINT BACKGROUND CHECK. Retrieved November 24, 2008 from: - shr.ucsc.edu/shr-procedures/section-c/c19_livescanguide.pdf Ultra-Scan true identity biometrics (n.d.), The Theory of Live - Scan Fingerprint Imaging (Breaking the Optical Barriers with Ultrasound). Retrieved November 24, 2008 from www.ultra-scan.com/LinkClick.aspxlink=Theory+of+Optical+vs+Ultrasonic+Imaging.pdf&mid=1332 Read More