Law Enforcement

How Biometric Handheld Scanners Make Law Enforcement Safer and More Efficient

In the field, officers can’t always verify identity from documents alone: the person may present an ID with no way to confirm it’s theirs, or have no ID at all. Handheld biometric scanners settle both at the point of contact, easily matching the person to the ID they’re holding or to a record on file. That’s how patrol units in California’s San Joaquin County run street checks and how Saudi security forces clear pilgrims at Hajj checkpoints.

May 2026

The Challenge

When the Person on the Street Has No ID

Every patrol officer can recall a moment when they wished they knew exactly who they were dealing with on the street. In some cases, the subject standing there might have no ID or a suspicious one, and the officer has nothing to go on except what they can see.

That uncertainty turns a routine check into a hard decision. Is this person a public-safety risk who shouldn’t walk away, someone who needs a call to social services instead of a ride to the station, or a clean contact that should end at the curb? Without a fast way to verify identity, the default is to bring the person in or wait on a dispatch callback, and either choice burns hours the officer doesn’t get back.

California patrol officers engaging with an unhoused individual during a field contact, handheld biometric device in use

The Solution

A Rugged, Multi-Modal Handheld ID Verifier, the Credence-3™, Changes the Math

One handheld scanner gives officers two ways to confirm identity and check for warrants on the spot: read the ID or capture a live fingerprint or face.

Handheld biometric device showing the Read Card screen with an ID inserted

Check ID

The officer scans the person’s ID document (if available) on the handheld.

Handheld biometric device capturing a live fingerprint

Capture Biometrics

The officer scans a live fingerprint or face on the same device.

Handheld biometric device showing a Match Found result with the citizen’s identity record

Identity Verified

The handheld confirms the match against the ID or a record on file.

Speed

Capture a fingerprint or face and return a match from federal, state, or county databases quickly.

Certainty

Match the live biometric against the document on hand and against watchlists at the same time.

Mobility

Compact enough to carry on a belt, the Credence-3™ captures fingerprints, faces, and IDs on a single device, with wireless communication built in.

Project Spotlights

Spotlight 1

Hajj Pilgrimage: Visa and Biometric Verification at Scale

Saudi security forces officer using a handheld biometric device for visa verification at a Hajj checkpoint

Hajj season concentrates millions of arrivals into a narrow window. At the gate, officers have to confirm the visa is valid and the person presenting it is who it was issued to, all without slowing the line.

The Credence-3™ answers the need. The mobile officer reads the visa, captures a live fingerprint, and confirms the match before the line slows down.

The result is faster throughput at the gate, impostor visas caught at the point of entry, and an audit trail tied to verified biometric matches. Using both fingerprint and face on the same handheld carries the check through. The extra-long battery life also ensures all-day duty cycles, even in harsh conditions.

Spotlight 2

San Joaquin County, California: Rapid Field Identification for Patrol Units

Patrol officers in California’s Central Valley run into similar ID issues on every street contact. The subject has no ID, can’t or won’t identify themselves, and is often unhoused or transient. What the officer needs to know fast is whether that person is wanted, on parole, or carries a record that makes them a risk to public safety, or whether they walk away without further action.

The Credence-3™ closes that gap. The officer captures a live fingerprint on the spot, runs it against county and state databases, and sees any active holds before the contact ends. The full check stays at the curb, with no callback step and no wait on dispatch.

At the contact, the officer:

Captures a live fingerprint or facial scan on the same handheld
Runs a rapid check against county and state databases
Sees any active warrants, parole holds, or prior arrests in seconds

For the agency, that means subjects with an active hold get flagged before any transport decision, clean contacts close in seconds, and officer time isn’t lost to callbacks that never come. When a print can’t be read, face capture on the same handheld carries the check through.

Benefits

What a Rugged, Multi-Modal Handheld Delivers

FBI FAP fingerprint capture as the primary modality. Roadside quality, court-grade.
Face capture as a fallback when the fingerprint can’t be read. Injury, refusal, worn prints from manual work.
Rugged, drop-tested, glove-friendly form factor that survives a full shift.
Offline capture and secure sync for stretches with no connectivity. The capture holds, the sync catches up.

One Device, Every Point of Contact

A rugged handheld like the Credence-3™ puts identity verification directly in the officer’s hand, whether the encounter happens at a checkpoint, in detention, on a patrol stop, or anywhere else in the field. A fingerprint or face scan returns a match against the right database in seconds, while the officer is still in direct contact with the person.

That changes how an agency works. At a checkpoint, officers can confirm at speed that a document is valid and that it belongs to the person presenting it. In a street contact, they can see whether a subject is wanted, on parole, or carrying a record that changes how the encounter should be handled. The decision happens at the scene with verified data in front of the officer, and every check leaves a court-grade biometric record that can travel with the case across agencies. The Credence-3™ device is also ready to read mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) if presented. Most importantly, the single-handed operation of the device means officer safety is always maintained.