New Fingerprint Technology Being Purchased
The Chatham-Kent Police Service is going high-tech when it comes to fingerprint records. As with most things in policing, keeping up with technology is not an option, it's mandated. July 1 is the target date for police agencies to submit fingerprint forms electronically and as of July 1, 2015, the RCMP will be requiring all police services to submit electronic fingerprints for civil matters, including applications for police clearance checks. The police service board has approved purchasing two Livescan Cabinet systems for $85,993 and a Livescan Applicant Processing system for $11,413 to meet this requirement. However, the cost has not caught the police service by surprise and won't be impacting the current budget. According to the report to the board, one workstation will be housed at Chatham-Kent Police headquarters to take fingerprints for criminal matters that will be submitted electronically to the National Criminal Records database. Another workstation will be located in the DNA room at the Chatham-Kent Courthouse to be used by court services staff. Having a Livescan workstation at the courthouse will avoid having to transport accused persons back to police headquarters if it is deemed fingerprinting needs to take place if additional charges are laid