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(NEWARK
AND TRENTON) – Continuing the Christie
Administration’s efforts to boost
security and safety within the Garden State,
Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) Chairman
and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez,
along with Attorney General Paula T. Dow
and Director of the New Jersey Office of
Homeland Security and Preparedness Charles
B. McKenna, today unveiled New Jersey’s
next generation of personal identification
with a new Enhanced Digital Driver License
(EDDL).
“The
driver license is no longer a simple card
that proves you are legally entitled to
operate a motor vehicle,” said Chief
Martinez. “It is now the primary source
of identification for most Americans and
a source (breeder) document used for so
many other pieces of identification.”
The
EDDL, which was fully implemented in all
39 MVC agencies today, builds on the security
first introduced in 2004 with New Jersey’s
first digital license. The new license,
while similar in appearance to the old license,
features more than 25 covert and overt features
designed to reduce fraud and abuse through
updated technology and enhanced security
features that are known only to the MVC
and its law enforcement partners.
“I
want to commend the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission for its hard work in the creation
of this new Enhanced Digital Driver License,
as well as the multitude of law enforcement
agencies that will assist in the investigation
of those who seek to fraudulently obtain
this new license," Attorney General
Dow said. "This cutting edge form of
identification is one more tool available
to all levels of law enforcement to stay
one step ahead of criminals.”
“While
the old license is adequate, recent events
remind us that we must remain vigilant and
stay one step ahead of those criminals who
would seek to perpetrate fraud and illegally
obtain this valuable form of identification,”
Martinez said.
“Strengthening
document security remains a top priority
for New Jersey's law enforcement and homeland
security personnel," said Director
McKenna. "The arrival of the Enhanced
Digital Driver License will deter those
who seek to fraudulently obtain a New Jersey
driver license as part of their criminal
activity, which may be connected to a domestic
or international terrorism plot."
The
new EDDL is also considered to be materially-compliant
under REAL ID standards. The REAL ID Act
of 2005 is a federal law that imposes certain
security, authentication and issuance procedures
for state driver licenses and state ID cards
in order for them to be accepted for “official
purposes” as defined by the US Secretary
of Homeland Security.
Following
the completion of the MVC’s core computer
system overhaul in late 2012, the MVC will
begin to implement a new, secure central
issuance process for all driver license
renewals that should eliminate over 1 million
visits to its agencies per year.
The
task of central issuance will be aided by
state-of-the-art facial recognition technology
because it will give the MVC the flexibility
it needs to investigate possible fraud before
a “final” license is mailed
to its recipient. The software used in the
MVC’s new EDDL issuance system enables
agency personnel to take clear and accurate
photos of each license applicant.
In
the last decade, the MVC has implemented
numerous security and fraud prevention measures
to complement its digital license, including
6-point ID Verification, security enhanced
license plates and temporary registration
tags and a comprehensive document fraud
training program which even outside partners
have taken advantage of over the years.
In
2010, the MVC conducted 340 criminal investigations
that led to 278 arrests resulting in either
completed or still-pending criminal prosecutions
triggered by fraudulent documents and various
fraud-related offenses and another 66 related
to other offenses.
And
just last month, the Office of the Attorney
General and the NJ State Police announced
the culmination of two large-scale investigations
that were the direct result of state agencies
leveraging each other’s assets. The
cooperative investigations – dubbed
Operation Southern Drawn and Operation White
Cloud, showed the direct relationship between
the sale of fraudulent identification document,
the sale of stolen cars, car jackings and
the illegal sale of guns and drugs.
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