United States, Nationwide
Drug Enforcement Administration
Friction ridge print comparison and print-card character recognition
OperationalOfficial publicationPAI-039BA6D1
- Body
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Country
- United States
- Area
- Nationwide
- Technology
- Friction ridge print comparison and print-card character recognition
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- Not known
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- Not stated in the source
- Evidence
- Official publication
Police force, government department or public body publication - Source
- Office of Management and Budget, 2025 federal AI use case inventory (DOJ-0065, DOJ-0296)
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-039BA6D1
Notes
The Justice Department's 2025 AI use case inventory (entries DOJ-0065 and DOJ-0296, as consolidated by the Office of Management and Budget) lists two DEA uses with the same stated purpose, comparing fingerprints within a case to link cases where individuals are not identified, with images and portions of print cards as output, both classed as high-impact: DOJ-0065, 'Friction Ridge Print Comparisons', a vendor-purchased pilot with a start date of January 2024, and DOJ-0296, a friction ridge optical character recognition use deployed with an operational date of January 2025. No vendor is named.
Other systems used by Drug Enforcement Administration
| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAI triage and summarisation of open-source foreign reporting | United StatesNationwide (Office of National Security Intelligence) | Developed and vetted by a US Intelligence Community element outside the DEA and DOJ (not named) | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationDrug Signature Program models (origin and manufacturing route of seized drugs) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationLicence plate readers (DEASIL programme and state, federal and commercial partner data) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationSupply chain analytics | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationData and analytics database tools for open-source investigation | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationThreat and security incident monitoring (pilot) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Trial | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationGunshot detection system | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationFinancial and cryptocurrency analysis tools (federal partner and commercial) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationIntelligence Data Platform (PenLink PLX) multi-language transcription | United StatesNationwide | PenLink PLX | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAutonomous drone detection and monitoring | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAudio and written transcription and translation of Spanish and Mandarin (pilot) | United StatesNationwide | MIT Lincoln Laboratory | — | Trial | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAnalysis of financial reports to identify linkages across investigations | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Proposed | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAnalysis of prescription monitoring programme data | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Proposed |
Friction ridge print comparison and print-card character recognition elsewhere in United States
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Secret ServiceLicence plate reading from poor-quality images and video (forensic) | United StatesNationwide | Amped (as listed in the inventory) | 2025 | Operational | |
| ICE Homeland Security InvestigationsTRM Labs blockchain analysis | United StatesNationwide | TRM Labs | 2022 | Operational | |
| ICE Homeland Security InvestigationsCellebrite media classifier for digital evidence | United StatesNationwide | Cellebrite | 2023 | Operational | |
| US Immigration and Customs EnforcementAI mobile device forensics triage | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Proposed | |
| US Customs and Border ProtectionTRM Labs cryptocurrency analysis | United StatesNationwide | TRM Labs | 2025 | Operational | |
| US Customs and Border ProtectionAI triage of smartphone content during inspection | United States | — | — | Proposed | |
| US Department of JusticeAI features in digital forensics tools (for example Cellebrite, Magnet Axiom, Griffeye) | United StatesNationwide | Cellebrite, Magnet Axiom and Griffeye (examples named in the inventory) | — | Operational |