NORWICH – In January of 2010, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services issued a state-wide mandate saying it would no longer accept classic ink and paper fingerprints.
The decision prompted a joint application from the Sherburne Village and Norwich City Police Departments to the Edward Byrne Law Enforcement Assistance Grant Program. The two agencies were awarded about $33,000 to purchase new equipment.
New digital fingerprint technology records prints with only the touch of defendant’s fingertip on a glass surface. Below the glass, red laser beams and small electronics beep, similar to the technology used in grocery checkout lines. But instead of reading a bar code, the device, called LiveScan, captures fingerprints and converts them into a digital image. The device also includes the first standardized camera and mug shot back drop. The fingerprints, mug shot and other personal information is then transmitted to a central state database. The new system went online at the Norwich Police Department on Dec. 23.
“It makes a digital image that can be sent via the Internet instantaneously,” said Chief Joseph Angelino.
Angelino explained that until police began using LiveScan, the only way to trace a person’s fingerprints was to record them on paper with ink and then mail them out.
Lt. Richard Cobb said the Sheriff’s Office has been using LiveScan since 2006 at its main facility in Norwich.
“One of the best things for us is you get a response back very quickly,” he said. “With the old ink cards, they’d probably sit in the office for a week or two before being mailed to state. About a month would pass, maybe more, depending on how busy we are, before we’d get confirmation. Now it takes about two hours.”
The Norwich Police’s equipment also includes another system called CardScan – basically a scanner that reads special types of fingerprint cards. Since the LiveScan and CardScan equipment is so expensive, many local departments can’t afford their own. CardScan converts ink fingerprints on special cards into digital images. Angelino said smaller village departments could fingerprint a defendant normally using ink and then bring the card to Norwich so it could be digitally converted and transmitted to the state.
The digital technology allows police to get a positive identification and any past criminal history or warrant information from DCJS in about two hours.
Angelino explained that because the state is now collecting arrest information in a central database, all departments across the state now have instant access. Before the system was in place, each individual department would keep their own physical files.
“So if there was a mug shot of someone, you’d take that picture and put in some folder you’d later file away in the office,” said Cobb.
But now police all across the state are sharing the same electronic filing system. Angelino also said the new system creates a standard for arrest information and photographs. He said there were as many types of mug shots as there were police departments. Each had a different set up for the pictures, some had criminals standing at different distances to the camera, some had different colored backdrops and many other inconsistencies.
“LiveScan now gives all police a defined background and distance from the camera, making photo comparisons and identifications easier,” said Angelino.
Cobb said the Sheriff’s Office has drastically increased its use of photographs in investigations since the database became available.
“Whenever you wanted to do a photo line up for a witness maybe or a victim, you’d have to go get the file and the photo and then locate a bunch more photos of defendants that look similar and put it all together. On the computer, you basically type in what you want. So it saves hours of work putting together a photo array,” said Cobb. “It’s definitely increased how often we use them in regular investigations.” Cobb said before LiveScan, police only created about one photo array a year but now officers are creating between five and ten a year to aid in investigations.