Irving-based NEC Corp. of America has struck a 10-year deal with the Western Identification Network (WIN) System to renew and upgrade its cutting-edge biometric technology for crime-fighting purposes.

The partnership between NEC and the consortium of western U.S. states and local law enforcement agencies will continue to revolutionize the way crimes are solved and make communities safer, NEC said.

“Renewing our contract with NEC for another 10 years is a testament to the trust and strong relationship Western Identification Network has built with them over the years. We are confident that our partnership will only continue to grow and thrive in the future,” Ken Bischoff, CEO of WIN, said in a statement.

Working closely with the FBI

Eugene le Roux, VP of digital government at NEC [Photo: LinkedIn]

The deal showcases a shared service that searches criminal and civil biometric records across eight member states, as well as interfaces with other neighboring states and agencies. By upgrading their current system and working closely with the FBI, the technology will help identify more offenders and solve more crimes.

This matters because NEC’s advanced biometric solutions, which include face and fingerprint recognition, offer a fast, accurate, and secure way to keep communities safe. The partnership demonstrates the growing importance of embracing modern technology to support law enforcement and public safety efforts. As a result, this collaboration serves as an inspiration for businesses to invest in groundbreaking technologies that can shape the future of safety and security.

“At NEC, our focus has always been to provide the most accurate biometric solutions to help keep communities safe and secure,” Eugene le Roux, VP of digital government at NEC, said in a statement. “We’re committed to supporting Western Identification Network in their mission and are thrilled to continue this partnership for another 10 years.”

Safer Cities program leverages smart tech

NEC is involved with the Safer Cities program, a smart technology approach aimed at improving public safety and security in urban areas.

The Safer Cities platform integrates various technologies and solutions, including biometric-based identity management, forensic investigation, video surveillance, security access control, and disaster management. By combining these technologies, the Safer Cities program helps law enforcement and city administrations create a more secure environment for their residents, prevent crimes, and respond effectively to incidents and emergencies.

NEC’s biometric identification system— the multimodal Integra-ID5—is part of this Safer Cities platform and contributes to enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of criminal identification.

Enhancing crime-fighting capabilities

The new agreement between NEC and WIN will bring numerous improvements and additional services to their crime-fighting partnership, according to NEC’s statement. These enhancements include upgrading the existing biometric system to a more advanced version that offers better security and faster management of biometric records.

The agreement also involves a comprehensive data migration and conversion process, which has led to the removal of duplicates from 28 million fingerprint records and the search for matches among 52,000 unknown images. This process has already resulted in over 2,000 matches, including 149 homicide cases.

Additionally, the partnership will automate part of the matching process, achieving a 41% hit rate without human intervention. This will allow examiners to concentrate on more high-profile cases. Improved search capabilities for unsolved cases will also be implemented, leading to a 97.6% reduction in the workload for latent print examiners.

Customized workflows and criminal history files will be provided for each of the eight member states, with support for many scanning devices within a secure framework for sharing, archiving, and recovering data. The system will also be connected to the FBI’s Next Generation Identification system, making deployment and maintenance more straightforward and improving overall support.

The agreement includes adding a new search feature for the FBI’s photo database to identify more offenders and solve more crimes. Lastly, an improved online archive will be created to store all data in a standardized format, making it easier for operators to search and find the information they need.

More on WIN

The Western Identification Network, or the Western U.S. Consortium for Enhanced Criminal Identification, is a collaborative organization comprised of western U.S. states and local law enforcement agencies.

WIN’s primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of biometric data, such as fingerprint and facial recognition records, among its member states and agencies to improve the efficiency and accuracy of criminal identification. By pooling their resources and utilizing advanced biometric technologies, the member states can better identify and track criminals, solve crimes, and enhance public safety across the participating regions.

WIN was formed in May 1988 to facilitate the purchase of a multistate AFIS System.

In June 1989, the funding was appropriated by legislatures in Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming to create the first multistate Automated Fingerprint Identification System network.

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