Award Nominations
IDEMIA is excited to acknowledge once again the very best in their fields at IDEMIA Users Conference 2023.
The most important aspect of these awards is that the nominations are submitted by YOU to recognize your colleagues, peers, and team members.
The Bill Whyte Latent Hit of the Year Award
The Bill Whyte Latent Hit of the Year Award acknowledges a professional who has made significant fingerprint identifications using biometric technology. Chief Superintendent Bill Whyte of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was a valued member and past Chairperson of the Printrak Biometrics Executive Committee (predecessor of the Executive Users Board). He served 33 years in forensic identification and was well known and admired throughout the international police community and the biometric industry as a leader in fingerprint identification innovation.
2022 Winner: Glendale Police Department
The Face Hit of the Year Award
The Face Hit of the Year Award acknowledges a professional who has used facial recognition technology to solve a crime. This award was created in response to the increasingly prominent role that facial recognition plays in modern law enforcement. The inaugural award was presented in 2017 to the Delaware State Police for an arrest that was aided by facial recognition and supported by tattoo recognition. This set the bar for the 2018 award, presented to the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC) Facial Recognition Unit (FRU). Recognizes a professional who has used facial recognition technology to solve a crime.
2022 Winner: Arizona Department of Public Safety – Phoenix Police Department (PPD)
Detectives Michael Reed, Tomas Apodaca, and AZ DPS Detective Marquise White
The Kathy Medrano Lifetime Achievement Award
The Kathy Medrano Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a colleague who has demonstrated effort and dedication far beyond the scope of his or her assigned duties, and expertise in biometrics. Kathy Medrano served at the Albuquerque Police Department for over 20 years as a project manager in the crime lab.
2022 Winner: Bruce Luhr of Nebraska State Patrol
The Johan Parlevliet IDEMIA Employee Recognition Award
The Johan Parlevliet Employee Recognition Award is presented each year by the IDEMIA Customers to acknowledge an IDEMIA employee’s outstanding service has helped an agency achieve its goals. Johan Parlevliet was IDEMIA’s longtime European Service Manager. He served at the Netherlands National Police Services Agency (KLPD) and other agencies for more than 24 years. Johan was beloved by customers and built and maintained an important bridge between users and engineers.
2022 Winner: Devin Shelby, Field Service Engineer, IDEMIA
David Cotton Unusual/Amusing Fingerprint Contest
Let the fun begin! This Contest showcases the lighter side of biometrics, and we invite you to nominate images for the most unusual and amusing.