Case studies Swedish Police Board, Swedish Migration Board and Swedish Road Authority
Swedish Police Board Implementation of national e-passports in Sweden demanded efficient data capture In 2003 the Swedish Police Board (Rikspolisstyrelsen) was given the task by the Swedish Government to prepare for the implementation of national passports with biometric information. The solution should not only respond to the passport requirement but also comply with the new EU directives, and also make the application process more efficient and secure. The Speed Capture Station from Speed Identity became an invaluable component to meet these and other requirements. There were other current international standards to comply with, including ICAO s (International Civil Aviation Organization) standard for photo quality and biometric information in passports. As a result, the Swedish Police Board decided to create a whole new system to manage the entire application process. One important component in the new system was the Capture Station, Speed Capture from Speed Identity, a booth that captures the biometric data digitally. Thanks to this method an intact digital chain is created where the image transfers directly from the camera into the system and the process decreases the risk of image manipulation. Even though it is technically possible to obtain this information when you take a photo and scan it into the system, it is of insufficient quality. The new system is also more secure since the administrative official monitors the whole process, says Lars Karlsand, Head of the Department at the Swedish Police Board. Included in the requirements from the Swedish Police Board was that the Capture Station had not only to be prepared for facial biometrics, but also for other types of biometric data capture like fingerprints as per the forthcoming EU directives. For security reasons the passport photo Swedish Migration Board Demands for a new technical platform for world wide operations led to Speed Identity Compatibility with the EU-VIS and the VISA waiver programme demanded a new technical platform for the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket). Speed Identity won the project with a product and a solution that met the exacting requirements. In June 2005, the Swedish Government assigned to the Swedish Migration Board the development and operation of the national part of the common EU-VIS and the technical solution for issuance of e-passports issued outside Sweden. Biometric data raises the security level The objective was that all Swedish embassies and Swedish foreign administrative authorities around the world should be equipped with a new technology that enables the capture of biometric data from applicants for visas. The assignment also consisted of incorporating a system to receive applications for national travel documents from Swedish nationals. The main purpose of the future European Visa Information System is to improve the administration of the common visa policy and to contribute towards international security and combat terrorism. A preliminary study made by the Swedish Migration Board established that many travel documents, in the near future, would have similar requirements. Based on that conclusion was the necessity to coordinate all issuances of documents using the same, more secure equipment. Consequently, the Swedish Migration Board needed a new technical platform that would constitute an essential hub in their future work with IDs, passports, other types of permits, and travel documents that the Migration Board handles. The
needed to be directly connected to the application and the whole process would be monitored by the administrative official. There was also a strong demand that every applicant should be able to use the Capture Station, meeting the needs of children, adults and disabled people. The photos also had to be of much higher quality than before. These features tailored how the Capture Station would operate and Speed Identity, in competition with large international companies, provided the only solution which met the requirements outlined by the Swedish Police Board. Fast implementation The implementation and roll out of the solution in Sweden was very fast. A prototype was tested by the end of 2004, and the solution was up and running at about 100 locations across Sweden by the 1st of October 2005. Supports all required standards The administrative officials work with the same interface system as the Swedish Police for the application process. Speed Identity s Capture Stations are connected directly into this system. As the data capture is supervised by an administrative official it ensures that the person who applies for a passport has his or her picture taken in connection to the application in order to maintain an intact digital chain. The Capture Station supports all of the required standards; ISO- 19794-5 for biometric facial recognition and ISO-19794-4 for fingerprints. Therefore the Capture Station complies with all requirements demanded by American authorities in the US Visa Waiver and the new EU directives for travel documents. All the biometric devices are contained inside the Speed Capture Station, which results in a simple IT environment. The Speed Capture Station is easy to connect Swedish Migration Board concluded that Speed Identity had the product and the solution that suited their requirements. Speed Identity s solution covered everything from the beginning of the project, development and implementation to running support, says Gunilla Hjort, responsible for the implementation and training within the VIS project at the Swedish Migration Board. The deployment During 2006 tests were performed and a successful pilot study at the Swedish embassy in London was carried out. During 2007, the deployment to embassies and foreign administrative authorities around the world started and by December the same year 136 Speed Capture units, tailored for the foreign Swedish Migration Board authorities, were installed in 94 countries worldwide. In Sweden 44 units tailored for the Swedish Migration Board were placed in 13 locations. The development and customisation of the Speed Capture unit to suit our purposes and objectives has been a process where Speed Identity has been sensitive and responsive to our requirements, says Mats Karlsson, Project Manager for the VIS project at the Swedish Migration Board. The whole process is supervised at each step by an administrative official, so using the Speed Capture unit ensures that it really is the applicant s biometric information that is captured through an intact digital chain by personal appearance of the applicant called live enrolment. The Speed Capture unit supports all of the required standards; ISO- 19794-5 for biometric facial recognition and ISO-19794-4 for fingerprints. Therefore the Speed Capture unit complies with the new EU directives for travel documents. Because of the intact digital chain the possibility to manipulate identity documents issued with the Speed Capture solution is substantially reduced. The Speed Capture solution also streamlines the production process of identity documents and creates a more effective working environment for the administrative personnel handling the applications. With access to information through the client the whole application process is faster and more secure. The result Speed Identity delivered two different models of their Speed Capture unit, one to be placed at Swedish embassies around the world and the other to be placed at the Swedish Migra-
to different types of systems and at the same time makes updates and support easy to handle. Efficiency for all The administrative officials have noted advantages with the new system. First of all it was very easy to implement and there was a sharp increase in efficiency of the application process, according to Inga-Lill Hansson, Head of Administrative Officials at the Swedish Police Board. Today it takes about four minutes to execute the whole application, including the time for the actual photo,which when compared with the previous process took between ten to fifteen minutes. Since everything is collected in one system, much of the paper work is no longer necessary, we know immediately if a photo contains the correct information and we do not need to scan paper images like we used to, says Inga-Lill Hans- tion Board s offices in Sweden. Speed Identity handled the logistics of the deployment around the world, a process that has demanded substantial planning and a close cooperation between different authorities. The less paper reliant solution minimises the need for physical archives and reduces the time required to issue the document since the application is sent electronically to the manufacturer of the documents. One solution for enrolment in all our offices around the world gives us consistency in our routines and makes it easier for our personnel to change between our offices. Now we have the same system to capture biometric data son before she also pointed out the time saved by the applicants. Previously, you could, in the worst case scenario, queue for three hours, and if you did not have a photo of sufficient quality you had to leave and come back with a new photo. The digital data capture plays an important part in making the whole process work well Economical advantages The fact that the Speed Capture Station enables the photo and application to be conducted at the same place means economic advantages for passport applicants with the new system. The result is that even though we have introduced a more advanced passport system, it is financially better for individuals, as well as taking less time, concludes Lars Karlsand, head of department at the Swedish Police Board. for identification and verification and it is an enormous advantage when it comes to uniformity, personal security and efficiency, says Daniel Andersson, project leader for legal issues and travel documents at the Swedish Migration Board. The Swedish Migration Board will also use this technique in their asylum processes to secure fingerprints and produce LMA cards, issued to asylum seekers during the processing of their application. VIS enormous data base All countries of Schengen will be a part of VIS and each country will create a national system that will connect with the central data base. Future travel documents will contain biometric information from the applicant that will be stored in the central data base, which will be placed in Strasbourg and Salzburg. The biometric information that will be captured is fingerprints from both hands and the applicant s face from the picture. Within Europe, the VIS will contain information of 80-100 million people and will be one of the world s biggest data bases when it is completed.
Driving licences in Sweden and Estonia Increased security and effective production The Swedish Road Authority (Vägverket), that issues the driving licences in Sweden is among the customers that has experienced the benefits of Speed Identity s technology. So too is the Estonian Road Authority (Esti Riiklik Autoregistrikeskus or ARK). In 2003 Speed Identity signed an agreement with Vägverket in Sweden which ends on the 15th of October and will be extended for 1 year at a time. The project contains 35 photo stations, estimated to produce 150,000 documents (driving licences) a year. led to the installation of 18 photo stations that produce approximately 70,000 driving licences a year. The delivered equipment is in accordance with what Speed Identity have supplied to the Swedish Road Authority. The authority pays a fixed monthly rent to Speed Identity for equipment, service and support according to a defined service level of agreement. We are very satisfied with the equipment and the service, supplied by Speed Identity and look forward to continue the cooperation until the end of the contract in 2012, comments Tamur Tsäkko at Esti Riiklik Autoregistrikeskus (ARK). This system has increased the security of the Authority in the process. Verification to prove that the person is the same as on the photo is made by both theoretical and practical tests. This was a problem with the old process. Furthermore, production has become more effective due to the fact that scanning of photos is no longer necessary. The production results are good, according to the Swedish Road Authority. We have only a small number of rejected driving licences compared to earlier, says Yvonne Käll at Vägverket. Speed Identity Group also provides service and maintenance This operation is divided between our own staff and our external service partner. Included in the service, in addition to solving errors, there is a visit to each station three times a year for preventive maintenance. The authority leases equipment from Speed Identity Group by paying for each saved photo. Included in the rent is the provision of the complete solution: equipment, licences, installation and services, explains Yvonne Käll. This is the what the Swedish drivers licences look like, which are now produced using technology from Speed Identity. Speed Identity Group is presently discussing an extension of the agreement with the authority, in which renewals of driving licences are also included. Speed Identity s agreement with Esti Riiklik Autoregistrikeskus (ARK) in Estonia for driving licences, has ICAO compliant - Fast integration - Uniform case environment - Better applicant service
Safer and more secure with Speed Identity Speed Identity AB is an innovative technology development company that supplies market leading biometric solutions for data capture to public authorities and companies. All development of hardware and software is made within the company. Speed Identity is ISO certified (SS-EN ISO 9001) and has worked in the field of passport and identification photography since the company was founded in 1958. During the past 10 years Speed Identity has supplied more than 15 million photos used for passports and identification. Speed Identity is part of the Speed Identity Group, which is a rapidly expanding group of international companies with subsidiaries in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Latvia. Some of Speed Identity s customers: National Swedish Police Board, National Swedish Road Administration, Swedish Migration Board, Estonian Road Authorities, Estonian Citizenship and Migration Board (CMB) and the Lithuanian Road Authorities Regitra. Speed Identity AB, Mediavägen 11, Box 634, SE-135 26 Tyresö, Sweden. Tel +46 8 448 70 00, Fax +46 8 448 70 15, info@speed-identity.com www.speed-identity.com Data is subject to change without notice