[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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