West Virginia’s Role In Biometrics Research Continues To Grow
Most of us can remember when sophisticated biometric security checks were strictly the stuff of science fiction or action movie heroes like James Bond. No more. Today, biometric security checks are an increasingly important weapon in the war on international terrorism.
The word “biometric” can be defined as “life measure.” It is used in security to mean measurable physical characteristics of a person that can be checked on an automated basis.
Although you may not think about it, your driver’s license contains biometric information about you. Your height, weight, hair color and eye color are all physical characteristics that can easily be checked. However, your height changes with your age (16-year-old drivers get taller, senior citizens get shorter). Your hair color changes naturally (and sometimes on purpose). You can wear colored contact lenses that change your eye color; everyone’s weight fluctuates over time.
Security personnel look for biometric data that does not change over the course of your life. That is, they look for physical characteristics that are difficult to fake or change on purpose.
The acknowledged nerve center of this country’s research, development and application of biometrics to support national security and law enforcement is the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) in Clarksburg. And now that effort is to be further enhanced with construction of a new $328 million Biometrics Technology Center on the CJIS campus.
In announcing plans for the joint FBI and Department of Defense facility, U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd described it as “a center of excellence” in support of national security and law enforcement.
The 360,000-square-foot, four-story building will nearly double the space of the existing 2,500-employee FBI CJIS Division campus. Once completed, it will also enable the FBI to consolidate all of its biometrics operations, many of which are in satellite facilities in Fairmont, and will accommodate nearly 2,000 additional employees.
“This joint effort will further enhance our efforts in fighting the global war on terrorism,” said a delighted Byrd. “For the state of West Virginia, it will provide construction jobs and, once the building is completed, it will provide the space for the FBI CJIS Division to expand employment opportunities as new advances in biometrics research emerge. This new facility will be a major shot in the arm as we continue to seek ways to diversify West Virginia’s economy.”
When completed, it will allow the FBI CJIS Division, which already has the largest centralized collection of biometric information in the world, and the Department of the Army, which has also developed military biometrics database systems in coordination with the FBI, to make advances into other identification technologies, such as DNA, iris, palm prints and facial recognition. The Biometrics Technology Center will include a Conference Training Center, which will allow the FBI CJIS Division to provide in-house biometric training to its law enforcement partners.
Daniel D. Roberts, Assistant Director of the CJIS, stated, “This project epitomizes the continuing cooperative effort between Senator Byrd and the FBI to ensure the safety of American citizens. Working with our Department of Defense partners, this facility will equip the law enforcement and defense communities with the latest biometric technology for use in the war on terror and to fight violent crime in the United States.”
Dr. Myra Gray, Executive Manager, Department of Defense Biometrics Task Force, added, “As long-time partners with the FBI, we are thrilled to be working with them on the development of the new Biometrics Technology Center in Clarksburg. It is designed to be a world-class facility that will provide even greater collaboration and efficiencies for the research and use of biometric technologies across the federal government. The successes we have realized utilizing biometrics to aid our warfighters in identifying known and suspected terrorists have significantly advanced our defense capabilities. Biometrics have also provided DoD greater resources by which to ensure that our personnel, facilities and installations worldwide are safe and secure thanks to advanced ways to confirm and verify individual identity.”
Byrd has worked with FBI and DoD officials for several years to help bring this project to fruition. A construction contract is expected to be awarded in fall 2010 with a projected completion date of 2013.
Stephen Morris is the deputy assistant director for the CJIS.
“Our role, our mission, our job here has expanded considerably since our present building was built 15 years ago,” Morris told West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “As our mission has changed, we have quite frankly outgrown our building.”
From a financial perspective, Morris said, centralizing biometrics work is a great idea.
“As a taxpayer, it doesn’t make sense for there to be three or four U.S. government agencies spending money to study, evaluate fingerprint technologies, iris scan technologies, when we can all be doing it under the same roof. Cooperation and collaboration is what we hope to achieve with our Biometrics Center.”
Michael Kirkpatrick, executive director of the West Virginia Biometrics Initiative, estimated the economic impact for the area from the salaries alone will be about $300 million a year, given Department of Defense employees and contractors and FBI personnel.
“This is a good move that will enhance the already very good cooperation between the FBI and the Department of Defense,” Kirkpatrick told The State Journal. “It will become almost seamless and be good for the country, for the state and the state’s
economy. ”
It is designed to be a world-class facility that will provide even greater collaboration and efficiencies for the research and use of biometric technologies across the federal government.
