Identix Wins Statewide Contract for Electronic Fingerprinting in Missouri

May 16, 2005
Biometrics company lands job for scanning of fingerprints for potential state employere, foster parents and others

MINNETONKA, Minn. -- Potential Value of Approximately $2 Million Per Year; MO Joins MI, CA, IL, TN in Selecting Identix Identification Services to Provide Statewide Fingerprinting Services to Employers and Government Agencies

Identix Incorporated, the world's leading multi-biometric technology company, announced today that it has been awarded an exclusive contract from the State of Missouri to provide statewide electronic fingerprinting services and related processing for licensing and employment purposes for the state of Missouri. The competitively bid award to Identix Identification Services (IIS) is for an initial two year period with up to five one-year extensions. The State of Missouri, Office of Administration, Division of Purchasing and Materials Management, issued the original RFP and subsequent award to IIS pursuant to federal and Missouri state laws requiring applicant background checks for an increasing number of job and licensee categories in the State. According to Capt. Timothy McGrail, Director of the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP), Criminal Records and Identification Section, Missouri expects to process in excess of 150,000 applicant electronic fingerprint submissions each year. The Company anticipates revenue potential from this contract to reach approximately $2 million per year, based on the volume of electronic fingerprint submissions expected by MSHP.

Capt. McGrail commented, "The federal and state mandates requiring employee background checks based on fingerprinting are expanding on a regular basis. In order to meet the increasing demand of our state agencies and other employers for rapid response times to queries, it was obvious to us that we needed streamline and further automate our existing processes. After a competitive evaluation of a number of companies, Identix' commitment to customer service and support, as well at their demonstrated expertise in providing statewide fingerprinting services made them the clear choice. We are looking forward to working closely with Identix Identification Services to meet the needs our Missouri employers and licensors, and I am confident this partnership will enable MSHP to make more efficient use of our officers and existing resources to keep up with increasing workloads."

"We look forward to working closely with MSHP and the State of Missouri to meet their fingerprinting services needs," said Identix President & CEO Dr. Joseph J. Atick. "This is one of many growing segments of the biometrics market and we are pleased to see IIS consistently expanding the reach of its business throughout the United States."

Under the terms of the contract, IIS will schedule, collect and submit electronic fingerprint images and demographic information from applicants throughout the State for a wide range of public and private employers, foster and adoptive parents, volunteers, non-profit youth serving organizations, as well as a broad array of licensed professionals obligated by law to undergo criminal background checks as a condition of licensing or employment. Agencies such as Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Transportation, Division of Professional Registration, Department of Revenue, and the Department of Public Safety will have the opportunity to take advantage of this service offering. The data collected by IIS will be pre-encoded and electronically transmitted to the MSHP's Criminal Records and Identification Section for search of the State's Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

Once operational, Missouri agencies, businesses and applicants will be able to schedule a fingerprinting appointment at one of IIS' Missouri fingerprinting centers by calling 866-522-7067 or via the IIS website at www.identix.com/iis. In addition to its most recent statewide win in Michigan, IIS provides statewide electronic fingerprinting services to California, Illinois and Tennessee.