Michigan Photo Database Receives Grant, Accolades
The Michigan State Police (MSP) has received a $25,000 grant from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, to upgrade the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP) database of mugshots and identifying marks.
SNAP uses Livescan technology developed by DataWorks Plus of South Carolina to transmit images via the Web along with fingerprints and arrest records. The data can then be accessed statewide through the Michigan Criminal Justice Information Network.
The grant will expand use, allowing more law enforcement agencies to link to the system. “This enhancement will encourage more users of SNAP and with more users, the photo database will continue to grow, thereby increasing the benefit to law enforcement in identifying known and unknown suspects,” says Diane Sherman, director of the MSP Criminal Justice Information Center.
The technology allows officers to conduct digital lineups, create missing and wanted posters, and conduct facial recognition searches. The database today includes over 1 million images from 54 participating law enforcement agencies, compared to about 150,000 when launched nearly three years ago.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Public CIO (06/29/06) .
