CLARKSBURG, W.Va., March 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- New technology designed to revolutionize law enforcement's ability to process fingerprints has reached its initial operating capability, the FBI announced today.

The Next Generation Identification System (NGI), built by Lockheed Martin, delivers an incremental replacement of the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). NGI provides automated fingerprint and latent search capabilities, electronic image storage, and electronic exchange of fingerprints to more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies and other authorized criminal justice partners 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Upon completion, NGI will have the ability to process fingerprint transactions more effectively and accurately.

"The implementation announced today represents a tremendous achievement in enhancing our identification services. Already, we're seeing how the NGI system is revolutionizing fingerprint identification in support of the FBI's mission," said Louis E. Grever, executive assistant director, FBI Science and Technology Branch.  

"Lockheed Martin was there supporting the FBI when IAFIS went live in 1999, and we're thrilled to be here for NGI today," added Linda Gooden, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Solutions. "Technology like this is a powerful tool when it comes to protecting America's citizens, and we're proud to serve as a partner in that mission."

"While IAFIS has been effective, criminal and terrorist threats have evolved over the past decade. Today's environment demands faster and more advanced identification capabilities," said Daniel D. Roberts, assistant director, and FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division. "NGI represents a quantum leap in fingerprint identification that will help us in solving investigations, preventing crime, and apprehending criminals and terrorists."

In addition to the new fingerprint identification technology, the NGI program has also delivered Advanced Technology Workstations to the FBI's fingerprint examiner staff. The workstations include significantly larger display screens with higher resolution and true color support, allowing staff to see more detailed attributes of biometric data for more efficient decision-making.

SOURCE Lockheed Martin; Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation