International Fingerprinting Services Canada (IFS), an Ottawa-based company that provides fingerprinting and name check services on behalf of local police departments, is opening a national name check centre in Charlottetown.
Under a unique pilot program signed recently with the Charlottetown City Police Department, IFS will provide the administrative services required to effectively process thousands of name check requests from across the country in their new Charlottetown office.
Mike Currie, Minister of Development and Technology, says the decision by IFS to locate its national name check centre in Prince Edward Island is a testament to the province's positive approach to partnerships. "This development is a great example of how PEI can partner with leading companies like IFS to become a world leader at piloting new ideas and services," says Currie. "We possess a world-class technical infrastructure and a commitment to building lasting partnerships and that makes PEI an ideal location for these kinds of activities."
IFS provides both fingerprinting and name check services on behalf of police departments through exclusive contracts. Under these agreements, police departments out source the administrative requirements of the service to IFS while retaining the actual fingerprinting or name check investigation process in-house. This is necessary since the service requires access to a restricted database of information known as the Canadian Police Information (CIPC). As IFS does not have access to CPIC, it works closely with police agencies to deliver these services to the public.
IFS President, John Conohan, says his company is excited about the long-
term potential for the agreement. "We're extremely pleased with the response we've received to our proposal to locate a national name check centre in Charlottetown and hope this is just the beginning for continued growth and development for IFS in Prince Edward Island."
IFS provides fingerprinting services to any individual requiring a "Police Clearance/Certificate" in Canada or abroad for: immigration/visas, citizenship, employment, U.S. waivers/border crossings, pardons, international adoptions, and all other non-criminal related inquiries. IFS is a federally registered agency of retired police personnel from across Canada which is commercially based in eleven locations across Canada.
The area of fingerprinting for non-criminal purposes has been, for the most part, turned over to a private agency due to budget cutting and increased demands on police departments to provide services more related to crime and crime prevention. IFS Canada has been endorsed by police forces and government departments to provide the most secure fingerprinting process in the world.