IAI Conference - August 3-6, 2015 Review

Dazor’s Director of Engineering, Ann Settlage, partnered with Forensics Source at the 100th anniversary conference of the International Association of Identification. Dazor’s new Modular speckFINDER HD Magnification and Imaging System equipped with 20” All-In-One computer with touch screen capabilities, new and improved image capturing software, and 5MP USB 3.0 camera used to meet 1000 psi photo resolution was featured at the show.

Latent fingerprint identification is of critical importance to law enforcement agencies in forensics applications. While tremendous progress has been made in the field of automatic fingerprint matching, latent fingerprint matching can be more challenging.

Interest remains high in a magnification/photography system which is “easy to use and affordable”. There is an increasing need to create, annotate, and organize photo evidence in order to import into a variety of evidence software programs (AFIS, FORAY, JUSTICE TRAX, etc.). The Dazor speckFINDER system was designed to fit this need and more.

In addition, the new and improved speckFINDER HD image capture software allows the user to view and print split screen images between live and imported images. Minutiae can be annotated on both live and still images for ease in printing and charting. These features are especially valuable for ease in ACE-V (Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification) of friction ridges.

Split screen software features give the user the functionality of a dual camera system at a fraction of the cost. Split screen features allow control over the imported image including general movement, rotation and size of the split screen window.

There is a new align overlay software feature to aid in comparing two prints (live and imported) of different size and orientation. When comparing friction ridges between two images the user must locate and click on three clear common minutiae points on both the “Live” and “Imported” images. Once this is accomplished, the software triangulates the images to automatically align the two images. The Split Screen Window Edge function can then be moved back and forth to demonstrate an exact match between to prints. This feature can be a powerful tool in communicating a match to a possible jury.

The large touch screen is ideal for multiple viewers in verification, teaching, and general communication.

In summary, the new and improved Modular speckFINDER HD was met with overall excitement and positive feedback at the IAI Conference.

Whether the need is to organize, teach, evaluate, compare, or communicate evidence, the speckFINDER HD System fills a void in the forensics world.