AFIS Contract Award

RCMP and National Police Services clients to benefit from contract award for the purchase of a new Automated Fingerprint Identification System

October 14, 2005

Ottawa - A contract to supply a modern Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Real Time Identification (RTID) Project was awarded to Cogent Systems, Inc. by Public Works and Government Services Canada on October 13, 2005. Cogent Systems, Inc. offered the best-valued proposal based on technical and financial merit, including AFIS performance testing results, in response to a comprehensive competitive solicitation.

This contract award is a significant milestone for the RTID Project, which is designed to improve the efficiency of Canada’s national fingerprint and criminal record repository. The Project will replace outdated paper processes and legacy systems with re-engineered workflows and automation. The RCMP is also undertaking some aspects of the RTID development in support of the implementation of the new AFIS in the late fall, 2006.

“Law enforcement and civil agencies rely on the accuracy and timeliness of these systems to support the safety and security of Canadians,” said Deputy Commissioner Peter D. Martin, who is the RTID Project Sponsor. “The AFIS contract award is a significant step in the RCMP efforts to modernize these essential systems.”

Both private sector and law enforcement clients will benefit from the improved fingerprint identification services that the RCMP will provide. Fingerprint services are not only used to verify identification for criminal purposes, many agencies and organizations rely on fingerprint identification for security clearances for employment purposes, immigration requirements, international adoptions and access to information requests. Improved service will benefit the Canadian law enforcement and criminal justice communities as well as the Canadian economy.

Work on the new AFIS is expected to begin November 1, 2005. Other work on RTID is ongoing and initiatives to further improve the efficiency of fingerprint identification and criminal record processing for this major project will follow the implementation of the AFIS.

For more information, contact:

RCMP Media Relations: (613) 993-2999