[January 10, 2005] NEC Witnesses Serious Success With Automated Fingerprint Identification System Deployment For Tacoma Police Department Tweet RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 10, 2005 -- More Than Two Dozen Leads Generated in One Week Training Phase NEC Solutions (America), Inc., a premier provider of integrated solutions for the Connected Enterprise in North America, today announced it has deployed for the Tacoma (Washington) Police Department (TPD) an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) that connects Tacoma's law enforcement agencies to regional databases containing approximately 37 million records. Since the NEC system became operational in early December 2004, it has already helped Tacoma law enforcement officials develop leads for more than 25 unsolved criminal cases. During the training phase alone, which occurred in early December, TPD officials achieved 29 hits, or "matches," on the NEC system. Eight of those matches corresponded to known offenders. The NEC AFIS solution connects TPD's identification system to that of the Washington State Patrol, the primary database of the State of Washington, as well as the Western Identification Network (WIN), an integrated AFIS shared by six states in the Western U.S. As such, fingerprint records in both databases will be instantaneously available to Tacoma law enforcement and, conversely, fingerprint records in Tacoma will be easily accessible to hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the Western U.S. Perhaps most important, the TPD deployment in Pierce County paves the way for connectivity to the fingerprint database of neighboring King County, which is anchored by Seattle, the nation's largest Northwest city. This King County database contains approximately 520,000 records. The NEC technology deployed in Tacoma also allows access to the California Department of Justice's fingerprint database, which is currently the largest state system in the U.S. In turn, given its access to the State of Washington's database, TPD will also have access to the FBI database that contains more than 20 million fingerprint cards. "We are excited about our engagement with NEC Solutions American to build out Tacoma's crimefighting capabilities," said Eric Berg, forensic service supervisor, Tacoma Police Department. "As has been demonstrated with many other law enforcement organizations, the Tacoma NEC AFIS has not only enhanced law enforcement efforts locally and regionally, but additionally has delivered significant return-on-investment for the citizens of Tacoma." "NEC is very pleased to work with the Tacoma Police Department," said Barry Fisher, associate vice president, AFIS Division of NEC Solutions America. "Our work in Tacoma represents a classic win-win situation, in which Tacoma, the State of Washington, and the entire Western U.S. network are already witnessing enhanced capabilities and lowered overall costs." The agreement with TPD comes just months after NEC AFIS earned top ranking in all categories of the Fingerprint Vendor Technology Evaluation (FpVTE) 2003, a study designed to identify the most accurate fingerprint matching systems. The study was conducted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and sponsored by the Justice Management Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2004, NEC implemented and expanded fingerprint and palmprint identification solutions for the California Department of Justice, Indianapolis (IN) Police Department, Nashville (TN) Police Department and Mobile (AL) Police Department. About NEC Solutions America NEC Solutions (America), Inc. is a premier provider of integrated solutions for the Connected Enterprise in North America. As an affiliate of NEC Corporation (Nasdaq:NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.1), NEC Solutions America taps into a global resource network to help clients leverage technology to achieve a competitive edge. From corporate performance management and biometric security solutions to digital cinema and in-theatre advertising systems, visual displays and server solutions, the expertise is delivered with the personal attention needed to address individual situations. With headquarters in Rancho Cordova, California, NEC Solutions America serves a wide range of markets, including the health care and public safety, financial services, cinema, retail and manufacturing markets. Information regarding NEC Solutions America can be found at www.necsam.com. NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. (C) 2005 NEC Solutions (America), Inc. All Rights Reserved. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]