Existing law, rules, and approved policy/procedures do not permit the subsequent use of previously submitted fingerprints for an authorized purpose other than for which the fingerprints were originally collected and submitted.  Pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the ISP and the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council (Compact Council), the ISP has agreed that the use of the Interstate Identification Index (III) System for noncriminal justice purposes and the use of records obtained from the III System for such purposes will be governed by rules and regulations established by the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Act of 1998 (Compact) and the Compact Council.

The ISP contacted the FBI Compact Officer, Chasity Anderson, on Friday, August 13, 2021, to seek a determination concerning whether or not the current reuse policy permits the use of fingerprints previously submitted to the ISP for a firearm concealed carry license for a related purpose, Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card applicants. The ISP was informed the current reuse policy remains in effect and does not permit the reuse of prints for a purpose other than for which they were originally submitted until such time as the reuse policy is revisited.  Ms. Anderson further advised as the question pertains to an FBI CJIS Advisory Policy Board (APB) policy regarding the reuse of fingerprints for a noncriminal justice purpose, research would need to be conducted and a topic paper drafted for consideration by the Compact Council and APB.  On Thursday, October 14, 2021, the FBI CJIS Division Compact Team advised it is anticipated that the topic paper will be presented to the Compact Council and APB in the Fall of 2022.   Subsequently, recommendations from the Council and APB concerning the reuse policy will be advanced to the FBI Director for consideration and approval.

The ISP contacted the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Law Unit on Thursday, July 29, 2021, in order to request approval of the recently passed legislation authorizing submission of fingerprints for and use of federal criminal history information for FOID purposes.  The Unit acknowledged receipt of the request and advised it may take up to 150 days before we receive a response concerning enacted legislation.  On September 23, 2021, the ISP confirmed with the FBI that the request for approval as submitted on July 29, 2021, associated with the recent FOID and FCCL legislation has been assigned within the Unit for review. As of December 14, 2021, the ISP has not received a definitive response from the FBI regarding this matter.

SPECIFIC CONCERNS REGARDING REUSE OF FINGERPRINTS
• Subsequent reuse of previously collected and submitted prints would raise system integrity concerns.  The retransmission of previously transmitted fingerprint images stored in live scan equipment or in the ISP’s ABIS database for a subsequent submission is prohibited in all of the Department’s Agreements/MOU’s with live scan vendors since this practice compromises the submitter’s or requester’s ability to affirm that a fingerprint or set of fingerprints actually belong to the person identified on the submission. Entities or vendors that collect and submit fingerprints agree to require each individual seeking to be fingerprinted to present a valid primary form of identification (i.e., driver’s license or Secretary of State issued State Identification card) as another means of verifying the identity of the person being fingerprinted. Simply reusing stored prints would undermine the fingerprint collector’s ability to perform this critical identity validation function.   The potential negative consequences of reusing previously collected fingerprints is sufficiently outlined in the “Fingerprint Fraud Scenarios” section in the Identity Verification Program Guide prepared by the Compact Council.  The scenarios underscore the crucial importance of identity verification by providing actual scenarios where applicants attempted and successfully circumvented the fingerprinting background process in order to obtain employment for positions of trust (teacher, health care worker).

• Subsequent reuse of previously collected and submitted prints would raise privacy concerns. Authorized governmental and non-governmental agencies/officials that conduct national fingerprint-based criminal history record checks on applicants for noncriminal justice (employment or licensure) purposes are required to ensure certain procedures are followed when the applicant submits his/her fingerprints.  Reusing stored prints would undermine an agency’s ability to fulfill these mandated privacy requirements and thereby violate Compact Council rules and regulations and the Privacy Act of 1974.