IDENT1 is the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's central national database

Database

A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

 for holding, searching and comparing biometric information on those who come into contact with the police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 as detainees after being arrested. Information held includes fingerprint

Fingerprint

A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...

s, palm prints and scene of crime marks.

It replaced the old system known as the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS), and works in partnership with Livescan

Livescan

Live scan fingerprinting refers to both the technique and the technology used by law enforcement agencies and private facilities to capture fingerprints and palm prints electronically, without the need for the more traditional method of ink and paper....

 technology.

According to the National Policing Improvement Agency

National Policing Improvement Agency

The United Kingdom's National Policing Improvement Agency is a non-departmental public body established to support police by providing expertise in such areas as information technology, information sharing, and recruitment.-Background:...

, IDENT1 currently contains the fingerprints of 7.1 million people and makes 85,000 matches with data recovered from crime scenes per year. Verified over 1.5 Million arrestee identifications per year. Checks more than 2,000 identities from Lantern mobile devices per month. Checks 40,000 identities per week for the UK Border Agency

UK Border Agency

The UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...

.

IDENT1 was developed by US defence company Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...

, who were awarded the £122m contract in December 2004. The deal was expected to last for eight years, with an additional three "option" years.