When it comes to verifying people’s identity, police are increasingly reliant on highly mobile systems that can deliver the results they need in real time. Cases of identity theft that go undetected can have serious implications for public safety. The number of times police check a person's identity as part of a search has steadily increased over the past few years, which is why the police require solutions that make identifying individuals more efficient.
As part of a pilot project with the German Federal Police, secunet has developed a smartphone app for mobile identity checks. This app is based on the secunet bocoa product, which belongs to the secunet biomiddle product family. In conjunction with the corresponding secunet biomiddle infrastructure, the app allows police to read and check electronic identity documents, thereby supporting identity verification as an upstream sub-process of a police search. The app employs an automated process that checks the necessary background systems. The pilot project also includes connecting the mobile app to the German Federal Police’s search system. The app displays the result of the check directly on the smartphone.
Compared to the previous method, in which the data was compared by radio, using the mobile app is much quicker and more secure, as the relevant information for mobile document checks and identity check requests are more reliable and available faster. Media discontinuity as well as input, transmission and transcription errors can be avoided. The app for mobile identity checks is compatible with standard Android smartphones. The German Federal Police is already using the app as part of a pilot project.
The European Police Congress is an information platform for decision makers from police forces and security authorities. It is the largest international specialist conference for domestic security in Europe, making it the ideal platform for presenting the app for mobile identity checks.
