June 28, 2006

Lansing - Michigan State Police (MSP) is pleased to announce the Statewide Network of Agency Photos (SNAP), which is the state’s digital image database of mugshots, scars, marks and tattoos, has been awarded a $25,000 grant by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.

The grant program, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is aimed at helping states improve criminal justice information sharing efforts.  Michigan was one of only six states to receive an award.

Similar to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), SNAP utilizes Livescan technology to transmit images electronically at the time of arrest, along with fingerprints and arrest data to the 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.

This grant will allow the MSP to upgrade SNAP, so that law enforcement agencies that do not yet have a Livescan terminal can use an internet-connected computer and a digital camera to import digital images into the SNAP database. 

“This enhancement will encourage more users of SNAP and with more users, the photo database will continue to grow, thereby increasing the benefit to law enforcement in identifying known and unknown suspects,” stated Diane Sherman, director of the MSP Criminal Justice Information Center. 

 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 it contains over a million images with 54 law enforcement agencies retrieving images from SNAP. 

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Pete Langenfeld, SNAP Program Manager, MSP Criminal Justice Information Center, (517) 636-0122

Read more news releases from the Michigan State Police.