Conn. State Police Get Live Scan System
Connecticut State Police recently signed a contract for an enhanced fingerprint identification system following a three-year vendor selection process. The system, to be installed by October 2004, will speed up identification of crime scene evidence, booking of suspects, and background checks of applicants for certain categories of jobs. Instead of having to mail prints to the FBI and wait up to six months for results, fingerprints will be submitted online with results in under two hours.
Source: "System Changing for Fingerprints" by Tracy Gordon Fox. Hartford (CT) Courant, 15 October 2003: B4
Palm Beach County (FL) Gets Palm Print ID System
The Palm Beach County (Florida) Sheriff's Office (PBSO) is now equipped with a $1 million palm print identification system that allows detectives to electronically scan, identify, store and match prints from crime scenes and jail bookings. PBSO processes 4,000 prints from crime scenes a year, 40 percent of which involve palm prints, and until now has kept the inked prints on cards. The new online system identifies palm prints as quickly as the department’s Live Scan system matches fingerprints.
Source: "Sheriff's Investigators Using Computer System to ID Palms" by Scott McCabe. Palm Beach (FL) Post, 15 October 2003: 3C
DNA Cold Hit Solves Rape of Colorado Child
The Arapahoe County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation recently received word of a cold hit from Oregon’s DNA database that matched evidence from the July 16 sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl in her home. Arapahoe County deputies and agents of the Fugitive Apprehension Group arrested the man, who has an extensive arrest record in Colorado and also served time in Oregon for burglary, theft and a narcotics violation.
Source: "Oregon DNA test leads to arrest of suspect in child sex assault" by Jim Kirksey. The Denver (CO) Post, 22 October 2003: B1
Kansas Web Site to Help Track Down Fugitives
The State of Kansas Office of the Attorney General recently established a Crime and Sentencing Task Force to track down the state's most dangerous fugitives. The task force has arrested dozens of fugitives so far, and will soon unveil a Web site seeking additional tips from the public. The site will post pictures and information on parole absconders, unregistered sex offenders and others wanted for violent crimes.
Source: "Web surfers could soon hunt parolees; An Internet site the attorney general's office hopes to launch in coming weeks would let the public help track absconders" by Ron Sylvester. The Wichita (KS) Eagle, 16 October 2003: A1
New High-Tech Wenatchee (WA) Police Station
The new $4.8 million station being built by the Wenatchee (Washington) Police Department will be wired with a $30,000 access control system to monitor entry into all areas of the facility. All 60 employees will be issued identification cards embedded with computer chips that will provide full or limited access to areas of the building, depending on the employee's security status. Instead of having to rekey locks when keys are lost, new computer cards can be made for $1.50 each.
Source: "New Wenatchee police station gets high-tech makeover" by Darlene Schneider. Everett (WA) Business Journal, 1 October 2003: S4
Georgia Limits MATRIX Participation
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue issued the following statement regarding the controversial Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX): "The State of Georgia will not transfer any additional information to the company responsible for the MATRIX project. I have held serious concerns about the privacy issues involved with this project all along, and have decided it is in the best interest of the people of Georgia that our state have no further participation in the MATRIX pilot project." Although the state has submitted criminal records to MATRIX, Georgia law does not allow the transfer of driver’s license information that had been planned as the next step for participation in the project. [see CCJT News, October 13, 2003]
Source: "Perdue rethinks Matrix: Driver records stay private" by Duane D. Stanford and Joey Ledford. The Atlanta (GA) Journal and Constitution, 22 October 2003: 1A
