PITO says that investigators have been collecting palm prints for more than two years but up until now national searching has not been possible.
Now a national database has been established to process the prints, which are said to account for 20 per cent of all crime scene marks.
Ident 1 is biometric technology that extends the capability of the national fingerprint ID system (NAFIS).
It will allow searching of all mainland UK records. Scotland has also signed up to the technology.
Northants police made their first positive ID within minutes of using the system and Humberside have reported 20 hits since starting to use it at the beginning of March.
