MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --
Thanks to a Defense Biometrics Identification System 5.0 upgrade,
ID card scanning speed has been reduced to a single second or less and the
DBIDS equipment footprint is 40 percent smaller. This helps alleviate much of
the traffic that could often be seen at the gates of Minot Air Force Base.
DBIDS is a card-scanning tool that uses barcodes and biometrics to
identify cardholders. The system verifies authorizations and assigns access
privileges based on identity, affiliation and the current threat level.
“That equates to rapid identity proofing and vetting of personnel
requesting access onto our installations and allows Security Forces to stop
potential threats at the base perimeter,” said Derrick Austin, Air Force
Security Forces Center Chief of Police Services and Installation Access
Control.
Security Forces have been using the devices since 2009, but they
were not always as quick to provide scanned data results.
One of AFSFC’s missions is to provide functional implementation
guidance for Police Services, which includes DBIDS. Program goals are to
improve the system’s availability, usability and affordability for installation
commanders and Security Forces.
The new equipment includes handheld scanners and all-in-one
computers.
The new DBIDS Scanner responds faster and with more accuracy than
a human checking an ID card. This means with the heavy volume of traffic
entering a base during peak traffic hours, entry controllers can now scan
credentials instead of relying on visual ID card inspections, and it lessens
the bottleneck or choke point at base entry control points.
Austin said DBIDS is installed at every Air Force installation
stateside and overseas, to include Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard
bases.
“If a person’s status changes for any reason, like being barred,
once the status is updated in DBIDS by the barring authority, all installation
entry controllers will see the person was barred,” Austin said. “In six years,
DBIDS annual scan statistics increased from 1,000,000 scans per year to
86,000,000 scans in 2016.
The system is maintained by the Defense Manpower Data Center,
owners of Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, or DEERS, and the
Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System, or RAPIDS.
When a DoD credential is initially scanned at an installation
entry control point, the cardholder is automatically registered in DBIDS once
the ID Card is validated in DEERS. Also, information is screened by the FBI
National Criminal Information Center. DBIDS is interconnected with DEERS
and NCIC for continuous vetting.
In 2016, entry controllers detected 4,000 people with warrants,
flagged 233 armed and dangerous, 71,000 personnel with terminated ID Cards,
3,500 barred, 73,000 expired ID cards and 22,580 ID cards reported lost or
stolen. Austin said that in 2009, it was impossible to detect these
categories of unauthorized personnel. “Now, Security Forces are able to stop
potential threats, protecting our people and warfighting assets.”
Looking to the future, Austin said experts are already working on
the next generation of DBIDS, to include a web-based virtual visitor center to
allow DoD card holders to request visitor passes online. Also, DBIDS scanners
will be able to read REAL ID compliant driver’s licenses, making visitor passes
obsolete.
“If you see your entry controllers using the DBIDS scanners during
peak traffic hours, assist them by having your credentials ready to be scanned
and understand if minor delays occur, there’s a good chance an unauthorized
person has been detected,” Austin said “It’s for everyone’s safety.”