Master Name Index (MNI)

The Master Name Index (MNI) is a subject identification database that includes basic identifying information along with a detailed profile for each person who has been added to a report. Subjects include offenders, suspects, victims, witnesses, and related people who have interacted with an officer in the past and been included in a report.

When writing a report, you can search the database to add an existing person to your report rather than making a duplicate profile. This way, all reports associated with the same person are kept in one place, on a single person profile.

 

MNI in Axon Standards and Axon Records

Axon Records and Axon Standards have separate MNI databases; when a person is added to an Axon Records report and included in the Axon Records MNI database, they will NOT also appear in the Axon Standards MNI database. In other words, if a person has a profile in Axon Records, you will not be able to find them or any information from any Axon Records reports they have been associated with when creating Axon Standards events or searching in Axon Standards.

These separate databases help prevent the introduction of bias into an Axon Standards investigation. If a person with a past criminal record is involved in an Axon Standards event, their criminal record (as documented in Axon Records) is not displayed to the report author in Axon Standards.

You can import a person and their personal information (except for the incidents they are associated with) from Axon Records into Axon Standards. For more information see Create events from Axon Records.

Note

Axon Standards does not yet have an MNI Merge Tool like Axon Records.

MNI Merge Tool

The MNI Merge Tool in Axon Records lets you find multiple person profiles that have been mistakenly created for the same person and merge them into a primary profile. The MNI Merge Tool can be opened from Search or the Administrator Console. Once duplicate profiles have been merged, only the primary profile appears in People search and when searching to add an existing person to a report.

Only finalized person profiles can be merged into a primary profile. A person is finalized when they are listed in a finalized report. A person can be listed in multiple draft reports but is not finalized until one of those reports has been finalized.

Duplicate person profiles that have already been merged into a primary profile can be viewed from the primary MNI profile by selecting Actions > View Merged Duplicates. These duplicate profiles are read-only, and any flags on the duplicate profile cannot be edited or added.
The image shows a profile page for an individual. A dropdown menu under the Actions button is expanded, with the View Merged Duplicates option highlighted in yellow. A pop-up window titled Merged Duplicates is displayed, listing two person profile IDs with an option to unmerge duplicates.

No actions can be taken on a duplicate person profile that has been merged, although you can unmerge profiles and edit the unmerged profiles.

Note

To merge profiles, your agency must have the MNI Merge tool enabled, and access to the tool is controlled by privileges. For more information, contact your agency administrator.

Merge from Search

Follow these steps to access the MNI Merge tool from People search:

  1. Open the Search module and search for a person by name, alias, or Profile ID. Use filters to refine the search results.
  2. Select the checkboxes beside the profiles you want to merge.
  3. Select Actions > Add to MNI Merge Tool.
  4. Select View Selected Duplicates or Actions > Merge MNI.
  5. Follow these steps to merge the profiles.
    The image shows a search results page for people with two profiles selected. A yellow highlight outlines the checkboxes on the left side of the profiles and the Actions dropdown menu in the top right corner. Within the Actions menu, the Merge MNI option is also highlighted to indicate the next step.
Note

If any of the people selected are not part of a final report, they cannot be added to the MNI Merge Tool. To only view finalized persons, use the Only MNI filter (nested under the Source filter).

Merge from the Admin Console

To access and use the MNI Merge tool from the Administrator Console select the gear icon to open the Administrator Console and select MNI Merge Tool. A dashboard displays potential duplicate profiles.
The image shows the MNI Merge Tool, highlighting options to select duplicates and merge them into a primary Master Name Index (MNI). The dashboard includes metrics for unique MNIs, canonical MNIs, and merged MNI records, along with tables listing possible duplicate MNIs.

You can follow one of two workflows to merge profiles from the MNI Merge tool:

Once profiles are merged, they can be unmerged by opening the primary person profile.

When reviewing the dashboard and using the merge tool, it's helpful to understand the following terms:

  • Canonical MNI: Often, duplicate profiles (unique MNIs) are created for a single person. When these profiles are merged one is selected to be the primary, or canonical, profile. The duplicate profiles are merged into this single canonical MNI, or profile.
  • Merged MNI: A merged MNI is a unique MNI that was identified as a duplicate and was merged into the primary canonical MNI
  • Primary MNI: The profile selected by the user during the merge process into which all duplicate profiles will be merged. Once merged, only the primary profile appears in Search.
  • Soundex: Soundex is a phonetic algorithm used to encode names or words based on how they sound rather than how they are spelled. These codes are used to easily match names that sound alike but are spelled differently.
  • Unique MNI: When a new person is added to a report in Axon Records, they are added a unique person profile is created for them that can be identified by a unique Person ID. This profile is referred to as a unique MNI.

The dashboard is divided into the following three sections:

When you select a row in a table, a filter is applied to the entire page to only display those person profiles. As a result, some tables may become empty. To remove the filter and again see all profiles, select the row again.
The image shows a detailed dashboard for analyzing Master Name Index (MNI) records. It includes sections summarizing MNI counts, identifying possible duplicate MNIs using unique identifier combinations, and listing MNI records by incidents. A yellow arrow highlights the change that occurs when a row is selected in the dashboard.a transition between two datasets, illustrating a change in MNI statistics and associated duplicates.

 

Master Name Index (MNI) Records

Three summary stats appear at the top of the dashboard, below the filters:

  • Unique MNIs: The total number of unique person profiles that have been created. This number includes duplicate profiles
  • Unique Canonical MNIs: The number of "finalized" primary person profiles that remain after profiles have been merged
  • Merged MNI Records: The number of person profiles that have been merged into a final, canonical MNI

 

Possible Duplicate MNIs Based on Multiple Unique Identifier Combinations

The tables in this section contain suggestions for profiles that may be duplicates. The first column in these tables displays a combination of various MNI fields (first name, last name, DOB, etc.). Spaces are NOT included between each of these elements. The second column displays the number of profiles that have the same combination of those fields, which could indicate that they are duplicates.

The four tables include:

  • First Name Soundex, DOB: The data in the first column is a combination of the four-character soundex coding for the first name and the eight-digit DOB (YYYY-MM-DD).
  • Last Name, First Name, DOB: The data in the first column is a combination of the last name, first name, and eight-digit DOB (YYYY-MM-DD).
  • Last Name Soundex, OLN: The data in the first column is a combination of the four-character soundex coding for the last name and the OLN (Operator's License Number, or driver's license).
  • Last Name, First Name Soundex, DOB: The data in the first column is a combination of the last name, the four-character soundex coding for the first name, and the eight-digit DOB (YYYY-MM-DD).

 

Master Name Index Records by Incident

Each row in this table equates to a person's association with an incident. As a result, the same profile may appear in multiple rows if that person has been associated with multiple incidents.

For example, in the image below, Marcos Sinclair appears in three table rows because he is associated with three incidents.
The image shows a table titled Master Name Index Records by Incident. It displays columns for incident number, canonical MNI, last name, first name, middle name, birth date, age, OLN, SSN, sex, race, ethnicity, person type, and soundex values for the first and last name. The table lists three rows of data with consistent details for the same individual across multiple incidents.

 

Merge tool and dashboard limitations

Keep in mind the following when viewing the dashboard and merging profiles:

  • The Suggested Duplicates dashboard is refreshed once a week
    • Outdated data may appear in the dashboard but not in the Merge tool.
    • After performing a merge, the merged profiles may still appear on the dashboard.
  • Only finalized profiles appear in the dashboard and can be merged.
    • If a profile appears in a report that is in draft (In Progress, In Review, etc.), that profile enters a draft state as well. The profile canNOT be merged until the report is finalized.
  • When reviewing inconsistencies, you can merge a maximum of 50 profiles at a time.
    • If more than 50 profiles need to be merged, merge the first 50, then perform a second merge.

Find duplicates suggested by the dashboard

To merge potential duplicates identified by the dashboard, take these steps:

  1. Select a row from one of the tables in the Possible Duplicate MNIs Based on Multiple Unique Identifier Combinations section.
  2. Review the rows in the Master Name Index Records by Incident table to see if the profiles are truly duplicates and should be merged.
  3. If the profiles are duplicates, select Open MNI in Merge Tool.
    • This button appears at the bottom of the dashboard, so you may need to scroll down to reveal it.
      The image shows a dashboard titled Possible Duplicate MNIs Based on Multiple Unique Identifier Combinations. It highlights potential duplicate Master Name Index records grouped by unique identifiers, including first name soundex, last name, and date of birth. A yellow box emphasizes specific related canonical MNIs, and a blue button labeled Open MNI in Merge Tool is displayed at the bottom right. Below the duplicate section, a table lists detailed incident records linked to the MNIs, including attributes like name, birth date, age, and ethnicity.
  4. Use the square checkboxes to indicate which profiles should be merged together.
  5. Select the circle in one of the rows to indicate the primary profile that the duplicates should be merged into.
  6. To automatically merge the duplicate profiles into the primary profile, select Quick Merge.
    •  If any fields in the duplicate profiles contained different values than the primary profile, those values are removed in favor of the values in the primary profile.
    • All profile pictures and flags that belong to the duplicate profiles are added to the primary profile.
  7. To instead review the values for individual fields in each profile before merging, select Review Inconsistencies.
    The image shows the Smart MNI Merge interface within the MNI Merge Tool, displaying a comparison of multiple profiles for potential merging. The table lists attributes like last name, first name, birth date, age, sex, and person type, with differences highlighted. A yellow box outlines the primary profile selection options, allowing the user to choose which profile to include in the merge and which to mark as primary. Two buttons at the bottom, Review Inconsistencies and Quick Merge, are displayed, with Quick Merge highlighted in blue and outlined in yellow.

 

Manual duplicate search

Generally, you can use the dashboard to find and review possible duplicate profiles. However, if you already know about a duplicate profile, you can manually search for it and merge it into a primary profile.

To do this:

  1. Select Launch Tool.
    The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface, which is used to select duplicates and merge them into a primary MNI. A blue Launch Tool button is highlighted with a yellow box in the upper left. Below, the Master Name Index Maintenance section displays filters and statistics, including unique MNIs, unique canonical MNIs, and merged MNI records.
  2. Type in the Search bar to find the duplicate and primary profiles.
    • When you select a search result, that profile is added to the Merge tool.
  3. Select the X to remove a profile from the tool.
  4. Select the circle in one of the rows to indicate the primary profile that the duplicates should be merged into.
  5. Select Review Inconsistencies and adjust which field values will appear in the final, primary profile.
    • All profile pictures and flags that belong to the duplicate profiles are automatically added to the primary profile.
      The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface with a search bar highlighted at the top for searching by name or MNI number. A list of potential duplicate records is displayed, with radio buttons highlighted on the right for selecting the primary record. At the bottom, the Review Inconsistencies and Quick Merge buttons are highlighted, allowing the user to proceed with resolving discrepancies or merging records quickly.
  6. After updating field values, select Preview Merge Summary.
    The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface, where a user is resolving inconsistencies while merging multiple MNI entries. The screen highlights attributes with conflicting values, allowing the user to select primary values and add custom values. A yellow highlight emphasizes the Preview Merge Summary button in the bottom right corner.
  7. Review the incidents associated with each profile.
    • Once the profiles have merged, all incidents will be associated with the single primary profile.
  8. Select Preview Final Entity.
    The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface on the Review Associations step, displaying a summary of entities that will be merged. The table lists MNI entities, the total number of incidents associated with each, and the latest incidents linked to them. The Preview Final Entity button is highlighted in the bottom right, allowing users to review the merged entity before finalizing the process.
  9. Review the preview of the final profile. If everything looks good, select Merge. Select Back to go back and make adjustments.
    The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface on the Finalize step, displaying the final merged record for review. The Back and Merge buttons are highlighted in the bottom right, allowing the user to either go back and make changes or complete the merge process.

 

Review inconsistencies

When reviewing inconsistencies between profiles, you first review which fields in the duplicate profiles contain different values and then set which information appears in the final, primary profile.

All fields that contain different values among the merging profiles are organized into several sections. Within these sections, select which value displays on the primary profile once the profiles are merged.

At any point during your review, select Preview Merged MNI to preview the final profile. Values that will be updated are highlighted in purple.
The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface on the Resolve Inconsistencies step, where conflicting attributes are being resolved. The Preview Merged MNI button is highlighted in the top right, allowing users to review the final merged data before confirming changes. A Final MNI Preview pop-up is displayed, highlighting the merged record with the first name set to Jon instead of John and highlighted in purple.

 

Attributes with Conflicting Values

Each row in this table is associated with a profile field that contains conflicting values across the profiles being merged. Columns in the table include:

  • Attribute: The field that contains conflicting value
  • Primary MNI value: The value that appears on the primary profile
    • If multiple profiles contain this value, the total number of profiles containing the value appears in parentheses.
  • Other values: The conflicting values that appear in the duplicate profiles

Grayed-out rows indicate that the field used to contain that value but has since been updated.

For example, in the image below, three profiles are being merged. Among these three profiles, the First Name field contains different values. In the primary profile, the First Name field is John. This name is used in two of the profiles, as indicated by (x2). In one of the other profiles, the profile name is instead Jon. The grayed-out row for Age indicates that at one time one of the profiles showed an age of 22. This row is grayed out because all profiles currently show the same age of 25.
The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface on the Resolve Inconsistencies step, where two conflicting attributes, first name and age, require resolution. The highlighted section displays the selected primary MNI values, while alternative values are shown in gray. Options to add a custom value are available for both attributes.

Select an option from the Quick Select menu to auto-select which values are included in the primary profile:

  • System Defaults: Selects the most logical values for each attribute. For example, for an attribute that is unlikely to change, such as eye color, the most common eye color is used. For values such as name or DOB, values from the primary profile are selected.
  • Most Recent: Selects the value that appears in the most recently updated profile, which may not be the primary profile. Most recent is Indicated by the clock icon.
  • Most Frequent: Reviews all profiles included in the merge and selects the value that is used most frequently.
  • Primary: Selects values that belong to the profile you marked as the primary profile.
  • User-Defined: Lets you select a value for each attribute. (You can still select a different value for each attribute, even when picking one of the above Quick Select)

The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface on the Resolve Inconsistencies step, where two conflicting attributes need resolution. A dropdown menu highlighted in yellow allows users to select values based on predefined options, including System Defaults, Most Recent, Most Frequent, Primary, and User-defined.

To view all value options and make adjustments:

  1. Select the value in the Attribute column.
  2. Select a circle in the first column to indicate which value should appear in the final primary profile.
    • Select a Person ID in the Entities with value column to open the associated person profile.
    • Select Add Other to set a new value for the primary profile.
  3. Select Save.
    The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface on the Resolve Inconsistencies step, where a conflict in the first name attribute is being resolved. A pop-up window displays available name options with radio buttons highlighted for selection, including John, Jon, None, and Add Other. The Save button is highlighted in the lower right, allowing users to confirm the selected value for the final MNI record.

 

Multi-Value Attributes

This section shows all fields where multiple values can be added (for example, phone numbers). Each row in the table is associated with a profile field that contains additional values compared to the primary profile. Columns in the table include:

  • Value: The additional value that appears in the profile
  • MNI Entry: The profile containing the value from the Value column
  • Included in Final MNI: Use the checkboxes to indicate whether that value should be added to the primary profile after the profiles have been merged.

The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface highlighting the inclusion of multi-value attributes. Two phone number entries are listed, with their corresponding MNI entries displayed. The checkboxes in the Included in Final MNI column are highlighted, indicating that both phone numbers have been selected for inclusion in the merged record.

 

Attributes without Differences

This section shows all the fields across all profiles that do NOT contain any differences, including values that appear in one profile but not in the others. Select Edit to change or remove a value.
The image shows the MNI Merge Tool interface displaying a list of 35 attributes with no differences. The table contains attribute names, their corresponding values, and an Edit option, which is highlighted, allowing users to modify specific attributes. Attributes listed include Type, Last Name, Middle Name, Suffix, and Date of Birth.

Unmerge duplicates

To unmerge profiles that have been merged:

  1. Find and open the primary profile from Person search.
  2. Select Actions > View Merged Duplicates.
  3. Select Unmerge Duplicate in a row to unmerge a single profile from the primary profile, or select Unmerge All Duplicates to perform unmerge all profiles.
    The image shows a profile page for an individual. A dropdown menu under the Actions button is expanded, with the View Merged Duplicates option highlighted in yellow. A pop-up window titled Merged Duplicates is displayed, listing two person profile IDs with an option to unmerge duplicates.