[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 36209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12328]
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NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION AND PRIVACY COMPACT COUNCIL
Notice of Two Accepted Methods for Determining Positive
Identification for Exchanging Criminal History Record Information for
Noncriminal Justice Purposes
AGENCY: National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the publication requirement in title 42, United
States Code, 14616, Article VI(e), the Compact Council, established by
the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact (Compact) Act of
1998, is providing public notice of two accepted methods for
determining positive identification for exchanging criminal history
record information (CHRI) for noncriminal justice purposes.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd C. Commodore, FBI CJIS Division,
1000 Custer Hollow Road, Module C3, Clarksburg, WV 26306; Telephone
(304) 625-2803; e-mail [email protected]; fax number (304) 625-5388.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Compact establishes uniform standards
and processes for the interstate and Federal-State exchange of criminal
history records for noncriminal justice purposes. The Compact was
approved by the Congress on October 9, 1998, (Pub. L. 105-251) and
became effective on April 28, 1999, when ratified by the second state.
Article VI of the Compact provides for a Compact Council that has the
authority to promulgate rules and procedures governing the use of the
Interstate Identification Index (III) System for noncriminal justice
purposes. The III is the system of federal and state criminal history
records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Due to innovative noncriminal justice initiatives in state and
federal communities, the Compact Council has received numerous
inquiries regarding its interpretation of the definition of positive
identification which is defined in the Compact, Article I (20), as
follows:
The term `positive identification' means a determination, based
upon a comparison of fingerprints or other equally reliable
biometric identification techniques, that the subject of a record
search is the same person as the subject of a criminal history
record or records indexed in the III System. Identifications based
solely upon a comparison of subjects' names or other nonunique
identification characteristics or numbers, or combinations thereof,
shall not constitute positive identification.
At its May 2004 meeting, the Compact Council accepted two methods
for determining positive identification for the exchange of CHRI for
noncriminal justice purposes. By way of background, ten-rolled
fingerprints has been the method to determine positive identification
for over 80 years in the criminal justice community. The use of ten-
rolled fingerprints has also served as the standard business practice
in the noncriminal justice community. As a result of this long standing
practice and reliability of using ten-rolled fingerprints to determine
positive identification, the Compact Council formally accepted ten-
rolled fingerprints as one method of positive identification for
exchanging CHRI for noncriminal justice purposes.
The FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division
conducted a study, known as the National Fingerprint-based Applicant
Check Study (N-FACS), to examine the reliability of using ten-flat
fingerprints for determining positive identification. The results of
the N-FACS study were presented to the Compact Council at its May 2004
meeting. After close examination of various N-FACS pilot program
findings, the Compact Council formally accepted ten-flat fingerprints
as another method for determining positive identification for
exchanging CHRI for noncriminal justice purposes.
Hereafter, interested parties should contact the FBI's Compact
Council Office for future updates to the Compact Council's list of
accepted methods of positive identification for exchanging CHRI for
noncriminal justice purposes. Further, information regarding a state or
federal agency's acceptable standards and technical capabilities to
process fingerprints should be obtained from the State Compact Officer
in a Compact Party State's criminal history record repository, the
Chief Administrator of the State criminal history record repository in
a Nonparty State, or the FBI Compact Officer for a federal or
regulatory agency.
In addition, the definition of positive identification in Article I
(20) of the Compact refers to a ``comparison of fingerprints'' without
specifying the number of fingerprint images. Accordingly, the Compact
Council has determined that the definition is flexible enough to
accommodate any future position the Compact Council may favor
concerning the use of less than ten-rolled or ten-flat fingerprints
when acceptable reliability is sufficiently documented. Future
alternatives for determining positive identification for exchanging
CHRI for noncriminal justice purposes must be coordinated with the CJIS
Division. The scientific reliability of any such future alternative
should not significantly deviate from the reliability of ten-rolled
fingerprints or ten-flat fingerprints; nor shall it degrade the
standards for search accuracy and/or computing capacity of the
Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System as determined by
the CJIS Division. Agencies should coordinate the submission of ten-
flat fingerprints with the CJIS Division.
Dated: May 12, 2005.
Donna M. Uzzell,
Compact Council Chairman.
[FR Doc. 05-12328 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am]
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