Biometric Information Used in Identifying Criminals
CRIMINAL
New Bedford Standard Times
Burcu Karakas
Boston University Washington News Service
11.12.2009
WASHINGTON – Federal agencies and local law enforcement departments have identified more than 111,000 criminal aliens in the first year of a joint program that checks the digital fingerprints of persons arrested and booked at the local level against immigration and FBI records.
The announcement was made by Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, and John Morton, assistant secretary for immigration and customs enforcement, at a press conference Thursday.
“Technology is the heart of this new capability,” Morton said.
The program, known as Secure Communities, is operated jointly by the Homeland Security and Justice Departments and participating law enforcement partners. They automatically check the digital fingerprints of all individuals arrested at the local level against Homeland Security’s biometrics-based immigration records in addition to FBI databases. This allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take action to ensure that criminal aliens are not released.
“It has been a remarkable first year for Secure Communities,” Morton said.
He gave an example from Boston: a detainee identified through biometric records had been involved in a rape case in the past. Without Secure Communities, this would not have been known, Morton said.
According to the statistics, there were 1,425 matches in Massachusetts from October 27, 2008 through October 31, 2009.
Since 2008, the program has identified 11,000 aliens charged or convicted with serious crimes such as murder, rape or kidnapping, and 1,900 of those have been removed from the United States.
There are currently 95 jurisdictions across 11 states using Secure Communities. Officials announced that the Washington Metropolitan Police Department will be the next to participate.
Secure Communities will be present in every state by 2011 and be available to every law enforcement agency by 2013, the officials said.
Napolitano said the top priority is to achieve strong and effective law enforcement. According to the secretary, biometrics is a new technological, accurate, cost-effective and efficient development that requires less manpower.
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