Minnesota county expands mobile ID network

Identix Inc. has won a $900,000 contract from the Sheriff's Office in Hennepin County, Minn., to expand a mobile identification network, the company announced this week.

Under the contract, Identix of Minnetonka, Minn., will deploy additional handheld mobile units that enable law-enforcement officials to conduct real-time, biometric identification of individuals in the field. The company also will tie the devices into an automated fingerprint identification system.

The mobile handheld units provide officers with the ability to capture and wirelessly transmit fingerprint and facial data of suspects in the field through a designated server.

The new project raises the number of such units deployed throughout the state to more than 150, the company said. The deployments have been funded by grants from the National Institute of Justice and the U.S. Justice Department.

Identix provides fingerprint, facial and skin biometric technologies and systems to the government and commercial sectors. The company has nearly 500 employees and annual sales of $73.8 million, according to Hoover's Online of Austin, Texas.