Prisoner pulls same ID switcheroo twice.

U.S. Marshals tracked Marquez to a Michigan home in January. However, he pulled the same identity-swap trick on jail officers there after he was arrested and booked. He walked out of that jail too.

Currently, he is on the run and considered armed and dangerous.

Simple mistakes led to Maricopa County Jail escape; armed and dangerous suspect still on loose
(ABC15.com)

As the headline says, they're simple mistakes. They're also simple to fix.

I can't think of a good reason to forego the use of computerized biometric checks for prisoner release. I say computerized because evidently, there was a sergeant who compared an older, smudged, thumb print with a fresh one before allowing the release — an additional benefit of automated fingerprint systems is that they often come with a quality checker on the front end, which goes a long way to preventing the "garbage in" part of the famous metaphor.

Another important issue, touched upon in the video below is the issue of specific training regarding the prisoner release process.

The sheriff’s office is in the procurement stages for new, biometric technology.

Fingerprint ID system taken offline, jail releases wrong man

This is why Intake-and-Release biometrics are gaining popularity in jail management circles...

Escaped Inmate Captured As Investigation Continues At The Chatham County Jail  (Old link dead)
The Georgia jail that released the wrong prisoner ordinarily uses fingerprint biometrics to ensure that the correct person is being set free. The system, however, was not in use at the time.

UPDATE: There is still video available of the story.

Mexico: New State-of-the-Art Prison

Jail having state-of-the-art technology opens in Mexico (News Track India)

The prison features cutting-edge technology, including 1,200 security cameras, X-ray equipment, scanners, gear to detect the molecular presence of drugs, biometric readers to monitor people entering and leaving the facility, and equipment to block telecommunications signals, Calderon said.

Biometrics in Jail Management

Richmond County jailers like new fingerprint technology (Augusta Chronicle)

In July, a faster fingerprint system called RapidID was installed, and heavy-duty wristbands began being used. Both have been helpful in preventing the wrong person from being released, and catching criminals claiming to be someone else.

In January, Devontae Romeo Roberts was released by mistake when he switched wristbands with another inmate, Brett Corey Counts. Roberts was found two days later and re-committed with additional charges.

Keeping the wrong person from being released is a big biometric application in jails, but it's hardly the only one. Prisons also dispense medication, keep track of hours worked and run commissaries.

Is there anything that can't be improved by slapping a fingerprint reader on it?

Well, maybe some things can't be improved with biometrics, but I'm constantly amazed at how many things can be.

Cherlapally Prison to get biometric telephones

Now, inmates of Cherlapally Central Prison can officially talk on telephone to their dear ones as home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy will inaugurate six biometric telephones on the prison premises on Thursday. The long-awaited phones will curb their illegal usage in the prison and help nearly 2,000 inmates get connected to their family members, lawyers and doctors.

CN Gopinatha Reddy, DGP (Prisons), who is going to retire from service on March 31, said the six telephones were installed in six partitioned cabins by Vodafone.

Iris Biometrics & Inmate Identity Management

Here's a good case study of the types of considerations that factor in the decision making-process of whether, and what type of biometric solution to adopt.

Yavapai County Sheriff Deploys Iris Scanning Technology (Correctional News)

Iris recognition is arguably the most accurate form of biometrics in use today. One of the reasons is the sheer numbers of unique characteristics that are measurable within the irises far outnumber other biometrics such as in fingerprints. Additionally, the iris is naturally protected by the cornea and its patterns remain stable over a person’s lifetime, which is not the case with other physical data points such as ears, fingers, and face.

The use of iris scanning to meet critical identity authentication needs has steadily increased internationally in the private and public sectors. Applications include banking, building access control, aviation security, health care, schools and border-crossing. Iris scanning is also becoming a valuable tool in law enforcement and corrections.

In the Yavapai County jails, the technology will be used with both the detainee and sentenced populations.

h/t @HodgeBarry

The Economics and Politics of Biometric Time and Attendance in State Bureaucracies

All over the democratic world, elected officials are feeling the pressure from the electorate to cut costs while continuing to deliver high-quality services. Translating that pressure first into action, then into bottom-line results isn't easy, though.

Public and private sector organizations are adopting new identity management technologies that offer a significant return on investment (ROI). This story gives a detailed account of some of the issues and managerial challenges surrounding public sector adoption of cost-cutting technology.

Budget Chairman Wishes Prisons Kept Better Tabs (TheLedger.com)

From time to time some state agency, or some person at an agency, doesn't seem to take seriously what someone in the Legislature, maybe a chairman of a committee, wants the agency to do.

Agency officials blow off the concerns of some committee chairmen at their peril...

The fight goes back to a little-noticed requirement buried seemingly innocuously in the budget lawmakers passed in 2010.

"From the funds provided in specific appropriations 629 through 721, the Department of Corrections by January 1, 2011 shall implement an electronic time and attendance system in all four regions through a contract ….," the budget said.

January 1, 2011, came and went, with no such contract.

Some of the best reporting on biometrics and ID management issues is to be found in small local media outlets. This piece from the News Service of Florida and found at the Polk County Ledger is a great example. It's worth reading in its entirety.

Jails record biometric data of inmates and visitors

Jails now record biometric data of inmates and visitors (Times of India)

CHENNAI: Prison officials have started collecting and storing the fingerprints and photographs of inmates as well as visitors to Puzhal and Tiruchi prisons.

This is increasingly common around the world.

Having data on prisoners makes complete sense. Too frequently, prisons release the wrong inmate.

Gathering and analyzing data on prisoner visits can aid investigation into organized crime networks.

Prison Using Eye Scanning On Inmates

Technology Given To R.I. Jail At No Cost (WCVB TV Boston)

The Department of Corrections said plans were under way last summer for the technology. The process was sped up after an inmate escaped by posing as another inmate who was up for parole. He was later captured in New York.

This really happens.

Iris biometrics are highly suited to this particular application because even though each transaction is slower, they are more difficult to fake than fingerprint biometrics.

The trade-off in speed isn't really a deal-breaker in a prison environment.

Sheriff's department to demo new eye scanners

Boone County Sheriff’s Department is showing off the new iris scanners that are available to deputies and the Boone County Jail (ColumbiaTribune.com)

Iris biometrics are being rapidly adopted by jails.

To understand why, it is useful to have a working knowledge of the framework outlined in:

NATIONAL BIOMETRIC TEST CENTER COLLECTED WORKS 1997-2000 (1.8MB PDF), specifically Chapter 1, section II 'Classifying Applications' (page 13 in your PDF reader, page 3 according to the document's internal numbering).

The categories are:
Cooperative v. Non-cooperative
Overt v. Covert
Habituated v. Non-habituated
Attended v. Non-attended
Standard Environment
Public v. Private
Open v. Closed

Some of these distinctions refer to the individual to be identified while some refer to the technology.

Nowhere have I found a more understandable and concise elucidation of how to understand biometrics in particular and security in general.

South Australian prisons to get biometrics systems

ComputerWorld.com.au

The systems will provide a method of registering and verifying all persons – staff, visitors and inmates - entering and leaving the facilities, and assist in the management of persons moving in and around the facilities.

You really don't want to release the wrong person or let visitors switch places with inmates. Systems like these help a lot.