Motorola Media Center - Press Releases

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accept Motorola Regional Automated Fingerprint Identification Access System (RAFIAS)

Streamlines Identification for Law Enforcement Agencies Throughout Canada

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-- August 6, 2002— The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has accepted a revolutionary upgrade to its Regional Automated Fingerprint Identification Access System (RAFIAS) from Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) that enables law enforcement agencies throughout Canada’s three territories and ten provinces to quickly and easily input and verify fingerprint records against the national database of 3.3 million criminal fingerprint records. The new system is part of Motorola’s extensive portfolio of integrated communications and information solutions to address mission critical public safety and security requirements worldwide.

The system, which is based on Printrak, A Motorola Company’s Omnitrak AFIS/ Palmprint Identification Technology, is the first of its kind in the world and is part of Canada’s National Security Enhancement Initiative. As part of this initiative the RAFIAS project will help to improve the security, effectiveness and reliability of the RCMP’s fingerprint processing network.

RAFIAS is a web-enabled solution that provides identification officers the ability to capture, submit and search latent fingerprints and ten prints against the RCMP’s central AFIS database. This flexible and cost effective system allows Canada’s larger regional and national law enforcement agencies to extend central AFIS access to additional locations and enable small to medium size police agencies to join the AFIS world at an affordable cost. The RAFIAS network replaces the obsolescent Photo Phone system for latent and ten print fingerprint capture and submission capabilities with significantly improved fingerprint image quality and increased speed.

The RCMP and Printrak announced the RAFIAS contract in January 2002 after an international competitive tender process. Future plans include implementing additional RAFIAS workstations to RCMP Forensic Identification Sections and other participating law enforcement agencies throughout Canada.

“We are pleased to be able to provide this truly state-of-the-art system to the RCMP,” said Darrin Reilly Motorola Communications and Electronics, Inc. Vice President and General Manager Biometrics and Criminal Management Operations Center. “Our vision is to provide our customers with integrated solutions to fit their needs and enhance their ability to provide safety and security to the public. We feel that with RAFIAS we have implemented a solution that meets this vision.”

The RAFIAS project utilizes RCMP/FBI-certified equipment and provides operators with the ability to work on a new case while the current case is being processed. This saves the RCMP valuable time and resources. The system also includes a detachable, high resolution digital camera, which allows officers to capture latent fingerprints at the crime scene and download the images quickly via the RAFIAS workstation. Images can also be input from photographic paper, actual objects and 35mm negatives providing complete versatility in crime scene image processing.

The RAFIAS network will be officially unveiled to the public at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Conference in Quebec City later this month.

The RCMP provides federal, provincial and municipal policing services to Canada including 198 municipalities and 192 First Nations communities.

About Motorola's Safety and Security Solutions
Motorola is a leading provider of integrated communications and information solutions with 65 years of experience in meeting the mission-critical requirements of public safety, public service, government and enterprise customers worldwide. The company's extensive public safety and security portfolio includes: interoperable two-way radio communications solutions with encrypted security capabilities; command and control equipment and software applications, including computer-aided dispatch, 9-1-1 and 3-1 1 systems, and automated records management systems; identification and tracking solutions, including palm/fingerprint and photo-imaging systems, as well as comprehensive information management capabilities for criminal justice and civil needs; and physical security and monitoring solutions, including remote monitoring and diagnostics.