The Child Project™ - Statewide Iris Recognition Biometric Technology Implementation in Maine
BANGOR, Maine — The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office announced the award distribution of The Child Project™ system for use by forty-one (41) law enforcement agencies across the State of Maine today. The system enables law enforcement agencies identify and locate missing children and adults through the use of Iris Recognition Biometric Technology.
At a press conference held at Penquis at 202 Harlow Street, Bangor, Maine at 10:30 AM on May 21, 2008, Sheriff Glenn Ross announced the grant awards and said “I was honored and pleased to be the first law enforcement agency in Maine to implement this innovative system and technology in July of 2006. I am even more please today to announce that through the exceptional generosity of an anonymous donor, my office is able to distribute The Child Project™ for use by forty-one (41) Sheriffs’ Offices and Police Departments across the State of Maine.”
Sheriff Ross continued, “As sworn law enforcement officers, we do everything we can each day to protect the citizens of our communities – particularly those most vulnerable like our children and seniors. We constantly strive to embrace improved techniques and technologies to improve public safety. Iris biometric technology and The Child Project™ are excellent examples of this innovation. With the generous support of a private donation, I am very proud to be able to expand this capability at no cost to the taxpayers of Maine.”
Sean G. Mullin, president and CEO of BI2 Technologies, the creators of The Child Project™ said, “We are honored that Sheriff Glen Ross of Penobscot County, Maine has taken such a leadership role in this effort. Through his hard work, creativity and determination, Sheriff Ross has made the State of Maine a model for the nation.”
The Child Project™ is a secure nationwide network and registry that enables law enforcement and social service agencies to locate and positively identify missing children and adults with iris biometric recognition technology. Through this network, The Child Project™ compares the unique features contained in the iris against a database of individuals who voluntarily enroll throughout the country to determine identity. Participation is entirely voluntary, just as it is now with fingerprint and photo ID card programs.
Iris recognition biometric technology positively determines the identity of an individual by capturing a high-resolution digital photograph of an individual’s iris. The technology can tell the difference between twins or even an individual’s right and left eye. The technology is non-intrusive. An image of the iris is captured by simply looking into the camera. The system was developed by Biometric Intelligence & Identification Technologies (BI2 Technologies) of Plymouth, Massachusetts.
“Today I am honored to be joined by law enforcement agencies across our state as we expand this important program,” said Sheriff Ross. “I commend them for joining me in our effort to help identify and locate missing children, as well as seniors who may wander due to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.”
Contacts
Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office
Sheriff Glenn Ross, 207-942-7748
or
BI2 Technologies
Sean Mullin, 617-803-1644