Note 1: When this system initially began, this system applied to cases of death penalty or life imprisonment or short term 1 year or more of penal servitude or imprisonment. But since May 21, 2009, it was expanded to include cases of death penalty or possible penal servitude for a lifetime or long term of 3 or more years, or imprisonment.

2: The DNA segments used in DNA-type identification conducted by the police do not contain information regarding physical characteristics or disease, nor can they be identified from the DNA-type identification results.

3: The number of repeat units of the repeated sequences of the four bases, adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C) called STR are unique to each individual. The STR DNA testing method utilizes this difference.

## (2) Automated Fingerprint and Palmprint Identification System

Fingerprints and palmprints play an important role in criminal investigations due to their uniqueness and permanence making them extremely useful materials for identifying individuals. The police register fingerprints and palmprints of suspects and fingerprints and palmprints left behind at crime scenes in a database and use an automated fingerprint identification system to conduct automatic verification in order to identify criminals and track down further crimes.

## (3) Computer-Assisted Facial Image Identification System Using a 3D Physiognomic Range Finder

The computer-assisted facial image identification system verifies facial images taken from security cameras etc. against facial images of suspects obtained elsewhere to establish whether they are the same person. Generally, the faces of suspects captured by security cameras are taken at various angles, making it difficult to simply compare them to photographs of suspects. Thus, this system, which makes it possible to identify individuals by adjusting the angle and size of the facial image of the suspect to match those of the image obtained separately from a security camera etc., is extremely effective for criminal investigations. This system, along with an increase in security cameras in various facilities, is being used by some Prefectural Police as a system that can obtain convincing evidence to prove crimes.

## (4) Automated Vehicle License Plate Reading System

The implementation of road inspections is an effective way of cracking down on automobile theft and crimes utilizing vehicles. However, there are problems with this method, such as the time required between the recognition of an incident and initialization of inspection, as well as the risk of creating traffic congestion when rigorous inspections are conducted. For these reasons, since 1986, the NPA has been upgrading the automatic vehicle license plate reading system, which automatically reads the license plate numbers of moving vehicles and checks it against the data of vehicles being sought.

## (5) Profiling

Profiling uses statistical data and psychological methods amongst other means to determine whether a crime is part of a series and to predict subsequent crimes, as well as information such as the criminal’s age group, lifestyle, occupation, history, and the place of residence through analysis and evaluation of crime.