The FBI launched the National Palm Print System (NPPS) as part of the Next Generation Identification System on May 5, 2013. 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. Law enforcement can search the NPPS database for potential matches with palm prints from unsolved latent cases at a national level.

The utility of palm print images comes from the fact that a palm print can contain about 1,500 characteristics that can be useful for identification purposes. This is ten times as many as a single fingerprint. 

The NPPS database has grown to include more than 60 million palm print events since it debuted 10 years ago. Those events are associated with more than 27 million unique identities. Each identity within the NPPS has an average of 2.2 images associated with it. Thus far, the NPPS has received palm print submissions from federal, state, local, and tribal agencies in 49 states; Washington, D.C.; and the territories of Puerto Rico and Guam.

The NPPS database's size and centrality aren't its only advantages. The NPPS features levels of technology that some other state palm print systems or applications do not have. For example, the NPPS can use an entire latent palm print to search for a possible match in its database, whereas other systems might only be able to use a certain part of a palm print or a limited amount of surface area in a search.

Sgt. Anthony Delucio, supervisor of the Pennsylvania State Police's Automated Fingerprint Identification System Section, encountered this advantage. He submitted a search of a palm print that overlapped another print and had very little usable surface area. The NPPS returned a result based on a tiny portion of the overlapping area, and Delucio confirmed the match. “The system is incredibly easy to use and often hits on palms that are borderline identifiable to start with,” Delucio said. “Great system with great results.”

The precision with which the NPPS processes palm prints and searches for matches keeps getting better. Bill Cromer, principal criminalist with the Greenville County, South Carolina, Department of Public Safety, has become a believer in the power of the NPPS. “As upgrades have been made through the years, the algorithms have increased in accuracy and have provided many investigative leads,” said Cromer on May 5, 2020. “In today’s world of increased technology in the forensic field, a searchable palm print database is essential and appreciated by all members of law enforcement.”

Some cases have demonstrated the usefulness of the NPPS for helping law enforcement.

• In Oklahoma, a subject died at the scene of a vehicle accident, and the subject’s body was severely burned. The medical examiner found only a partial area of the subject’s palm that was unburned. When the state identification bureau printed the subject’s hand and submitted a search to the NPPS, the NPPS located a possible match. The FBI’s Palm Services and Analysis Team sent the state identification bureau a complete set of palm prints for the possible subject for comparison. The state identification bureau was then able to positively identify the subject.
• In Florida, police responded to a report of a burglary in which an unknown subject had entered through a window. Investigators found latent palm prints near the window. They submitted the palm prints to search against local and state databases, as well as the NPPS. One of the palm prints resulted in a possible match in the NPPS, and investigators positively identified the subject based on the palm print. Police arrested the subject, who was charged with burglary and grand theft. The subject pleaded guilty.
• In Virginia, two subjects robbed a store clerk at gunpoint. They bound the clerk with plastic ties, set the store on fire, and escaped in the clerk’s vehicle. Bystanders alerted firefighters, who freed the clerk from the burning store. The clerk’s vehicle was later found burned. Investigators found a palm print on the side of the clerk’s vehicle. A latent print examiner with the local sheriff’s office requested a set of palm prints for a suspect from the NPPS. FBI personnel with the NPPS then provided the palm prints to the sheriff’s office. Latent print examiners and investigators from several counties successfully collaborated to identify the suspect by comparing the set of palm prints from NPPS against the latent palm print from the vehicle.

The FBI has received positive feedback about the NPPS from other law enforcement partners, as well.

• “The NPPS has been a very valuable tool for the Indiana State Police (ISP). It has been integral in making identifications that were not possible before.” (Marcus Montooth, latent print supervisor, ISP Laboratory, May 14, 2020)
• “It is difficult to imagine doing our job in today’s world without having the NPPS.” (Fingerprint identification director, county sheriff’s office, May 5, 2020)
• “I highly and enthusiastically recommend the NPPS to any other law enforcement agency or forensic laboratory looking to solve more crimes.” (Latent fingerprint examiner, metropolitan police department, May 5, 2020)

For ten years, the NPPS has proven itself to be an effective, reliable resource for law enforcement agencies. It has dramatically improved law enforcement agencies’ access to palm prints that were previously stored separately in various federal, state, local, or tribal systems. The FBI continues to expand NPPS capabilities, and agencies across the nation continue to contribute more palm print submissions to grow the NPPS database.

More information about palm prints and the NPPS are available on the FBI’s website, including:

• A Practical Guide for Palm Print Capture with information about how to effectively record palm prints.
• A “Palm Print Capture” poster to serve as a basic visual reference for recording palm prints.
• A “Palm and Supplemental Print Capture” poster with more detailed information.
• A link to download the “Palm and Supplemental Print Capture” poster in an accessible Portable Document File format.

Those who wish to contact the FBI about the NPPS can email palm_prints@fbi.gov.

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