Criminal Justice Information Services Division’s Palm Services and Analysis team (PSAT)

To Whom it May Concern,

I am a representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to the Criminal Justice Information Services Division’s Palm Services and Analysis Team (PSAT). As background, the PSAT manages the research, analysis, enhancement, and operation of the National Palm Print System (NPPS). On May 5, 2013, the FBI launched the NPPS as part of the Next Generation Identification System. The NPPS is a central repository of known palm prints from criminal arrests, civil applications, and national security submissions from various sources across the nation. The NPPS provides a database of palm prints for law enforcement agencies to search for potential matches with palm prints from unsolved latent cases at a national level. Agencies in 49 states, Washington, D.C., and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico contribute palm prints to the NPPS. Identifications from these submissions have provided numerous successes to our law enforcement partners.

The PSAT staff has developed an article/letter intended to be distributed to state law enforcement associations across the nation to be published on their public facing websites.  The subject matter of the article/letter is intended to explain the importance of proper collection of palm prints and is part of our “National Campaign” to educate federal, state, local and tribal agencies on the #1 deficiency (missing distal impressions) for enrolling a palm print into the NPPS. The PSAT staff’s goal is to educate as many law enforcement officials as possible on proper palm print collection.

Britt Karlen
PSAT Analyst
FBI CJIS
bhkarlen@fbi.gov