DHS Biometric Data Sharing with State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement

DHS’s Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) is expanding access to its massive biometric database, IDENT, which houses over 325 million identities. State, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement agencies can now tap into this resource to enhance criminal investigations, especially through new capabilities like latent fingerprint searches. A successful pilot in Texas already demonstrated how matches from IDENT helped resolve serious crimes, including homicide and fraud. With simple coordination through FBI CJIS, agencies can gain access and receive timely biometric data to support their investigative efforts.