April 27, 2006

Lansing - The Michigan State Police (MSP) is pleased to announce the state’s digital image database that contains mugshots, scars, marks and tattoos, has surpassed the one million images mark, making it a more powerful investigative tool for law enforcement.

Similar to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), the Statewide Network of Agency Photos, known as SNAP, utilizes Livescan technology to transmit images electronically at the time of arrest, along with fingerprints and arrest data to the Michigan State Police (MSP) Criminal Justice Information Center. From there, the images are available to law enforcement agencies across the state through the Michigan Criminal Justice Information Network (MiCJIN), which is a secure web portal.

SNAP allows law enforcement agencies to access images to conduct digital lineups, create missing and wanted posters and perform facial recognition searches in which an investigator can search the database for similar facial characteristics to locate possible suspects. This technology, provided by DataWorks Plus LLC. of South Carolina, offers law enforcement one more method of matching suspects to crimes thereby aiding in the identification, apprehension and prosecution of offenders.

SNAP was introduced almost three years ago. At the time, it contained approximately 150,000 images. Today there are 49 law enforcement agencies retrieving images from SNAP.

Read more news releases from the Michigan State Police.