CCRTIS Report - Volume 1, Issue 1 - May 2009

Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services Newsletter

Welcome to the new CCRTIS Report

The CCRTIS Report is a redesigned newsletter, developed to inform current and prospective clients of Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services. The new CCRTIS Report will be issued quarterly and will include updates on: business processes; interagency partnerships; certification activities; Real Time Identification (RTID) release information, migration activities and Phase II requirements; and other important information stemming from the CCRTIS directorate.

CCRTIS is a directorate of the Forensic Science and Identification Services of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It manages the Central Repository of fingerprints and criminal records information. CCRTIS manages criminal records files consisting of criminal charges and their dispositions, including convictions and discharges, and fingerprint information.

- Guylaine Dansereau, Director CCRTIS

CCRTIS and RTID Project working hard to certify multiple groups

Thanks to an increase in operational support, a newly formed team is actively certifying vendor devices (Livescans, Cardscans, NIST Servers) in accordance with the latest version of the National Police Services - National Institute of Standards and Technology - Interface Control Document. The document describes the types and format of information that the Real Time Identification (RTID) system sends and receives electronically.

Mark Labonte, Officer in Charge of Biometric Business Solutions, says the time it takes to certify one workflow has been dramatically reduced.

“We’re geared up,” said Labonte. “We’re totally ready to accept any vendor requesting certification for the latest version of the ICD, the Interface Control Document. “More than one year ago, we weren’t.”

The vendor certification team is comprised of six people, which includes testers, business analysts, and fingerprint experts. The vendor certification team will support the operational requirements of CCRTIS contributors that utilize the workflows in production.

Vendor testing is a prerequisite for agencies that have procured the respective vendor solutions and are awaiting their connection to the RTID system.

In parallel with the vendor certification activities, CCRTIS is developing a strategy for certifying agencies to use the RTID civil and criminal ten-print workflows that are currently available in production.

At this time, vendor devices and the application software of police agencies, federal government departments and private fingerprinting agencies are being tested to ensure compliancy with RTID standards.

Criminal ten-print workflows are being tested against various test cases which simulate transactions that would occur in a police agency operational environment. Full test case suites may have between 20 to 40 test cases and take a significant amount of expertise and effort to create, review and execute.

The certification team evaluates the completed test cases to ensure that the submissions are compatible with the RTID system. The team validates the demographic data and biometric image quality of each submission in accordance with international standards.

Accredited Private Fingerprinting Companies

Private fingerprinting companies are also among those that utilize the new RTID system. CCRTIS has been working with accredited private fingerprinting companies that intend to connect directly to the RTID system or act as a satellite fingerprint location and submit transactions to an existing accredited service provider.

The former model involves additional activities, such as safeguarding a new network connection to the RTID system.

As more accredited companies are certified, the general public will have access to more locations offering non-criminal fingerprinting services.

Private firms could provide fingerprint-based criminal record checks for adoption requests, background checks for prospective employees, and permanent resident applicants.

Conference brings police agencies together

Working group hears about project updates

Last November, CCRTIS held a two-day conference in Ottawa with the Criminal Records Working Group.

The conference was well attended with an audience of 32 internal and 47 external visitors converging in Ottawa’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade building on Sussex Drive, to discuss topics such as updates on the charge and disposition library, latent migration, among others.

The working group, made up of a cross section of Canada’s law enforcement agencies from western, eastern, and central provinces, provides a forum for CCRTIS employees and the Real Time Identification Project staff to discuss RTID Phase II requirements and criminal records processes.

The working group provides input on system developments and helps ensure new processes meet client requirements.

Feedback from a conference survey indicated that participants appreciated receiving background material that was handed to them in advance of some of the presentations. Respondents also said they enjoyed the opportunity to network with colleagues from other police services. Nine out of 10 survey respondents agreed that topics were presented at the appropriate level of detail. Survey results will be taken into account to improve future conferences. The next conference is scheduled for fall 2009.

If you participated in November’s conference and want to receive more information about the survey results, contact CCRTIS Operational Support & Client Services.

Here’s How

This tip is intended for all civil paper-based contributors.

When submitting your respective C-216C forms – used for non-criminal, civil fingerprint checks – it is in your best interests to provide your Agency Identifier (ORI) within the Fingerprint Agency/Department section of the form.

In doing so, CCRTIS staff will be able to clearly identify your agency, which will also help expedite the process of converting your C-216C submissions into an internal electronic format.

If you are unaware of your agency’s ORI, please contact CCRTIS Operational Support & Client Services.

RTID moves forward with Phase II

The Real-Time Identification (RTID) Project continues to move forward having recently entered Phase II of the project.

This phase will see the development of enhancements directed at improving criminal record information management.

This phase will include support for electronic submissions of criminal records (charge and subsequent disposition information), as well as minor changes to the handling of refugee, employee and civil submissions, which are associated with the replacement of existing legacy systems and changed business workflows.

Now Scheduled for Summer 2009

An interim release will allow CCRTIS to begin migration testing, to provide Criminal Ten Print Submission, Retain Yes (CAR-Y) and refugee specific functionality. 

Migration testing will occur over a three-month period, followed by a phased-in implementation with contributors beginning in fall 2009.  Electronic submissions involve far more up-front validation by the Real Time Identification (RTID) system than the legacy process. 

As part of the validation, submissions that are not compliant with RTID standards may be rejected and returned to the contributing agency for correction and resubmission.

The summer 2009 release will be followed later in the year with a release providing support for ID Flats submissions and will also include some performance enhancements to the RTID system.

Biometrics part of future at Immigration

Border security remains a priority for Canadians. Canada will join other countries such as Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, which have recognized the value of using biometrics in their immigration and border processes.

Biometrics are unique physical characteristics that can be used to identify individuals.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is leading a Temporary Resident Biometrics Project in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The project is currently in the planning phase.

Further to biometric field trials in Canada that were successfully completed in 2007, the Government will introduce the use of biometric data, such as fingerprints and live photographs, in its visa-issuing process to accurately verify identity and travel documents of foreign nationals who enter Canada.

This initiative will enhance the integrity and efficiency of the border by preventing criminals from entering Canada, and facilitating the processing of legitimate applicants. The 2008 budget provided $26 million over two years for the initiative.

By the numbers

• In the past two years Latents had 1,103 potential hits searched and identified 862 individuals on the new Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).
• In 2008, CCRTIS had 250,000 prints on the unsolved Latent file and now has 92,000.
• Approximately 130,000 Finger Print Section (FPS) numbers were assigned in the year 2008.

Canada’s Fingerprint Father

Const. Edward Foster (1863-1956) of the former Dominion Police is considered the “father” of Canadian fingerprinting.

A chance encounter in 1904 with a leading fingerprint expert speaking at the International Association of Chiefs of Police in the United States led to Foster’s fascination with fingerprinting.

When he returned to Canada he described the process to Sir Percy Sherwood, the Commissioner of the Dominion Police. Sherwood shared Foster’s interest in taking an impression of a suspect’s hand as a way of identifying them. In 1911, Canada’s first fingerprint bureau was established.

Foster's career in promoting the idea of fingerprints as an infallible means of identification was not easy. There were many competing ideas. For instance, Cesare Lombroso in Italy advocated taking physical measurements of criminals.

Contact us

RCMP National Police Services
1200 Vanier Parkway
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R2
CCRTIS-SCICTR@rcmp-grc-gc-ca