LiveScan finger and palm printing to go national

Following a successful pilot of the new LiveScan fingerprint technology, the equipment is now operational in Lower Hutt and its national roll-out has been approved.

LiveScan is an electronic, computer-based device which reads finger and palm print patterns directly from the person and provides real-time identity of offenders.

Prints are collected into an electronic medium from the 'live' person, rather than being captured and read from an inked fingerprint form.

A pilot commenced at Lower Hutt in late November last year to test the equipment's performance and functionality. The pilot was successfully completed on 9 January, when it was designated as operational and subsequently approved for national roll out.

Senior Sergeant Warren Harris, Lower Hutt LiveScan site specialist, says as well as being a much cleaner process than using ink, the biggest selling point for frontline police is the ability to confirm the true identity of a recidivist offender, by the end of the printing process.

"The unit has set, inbuilt quality standards which ensure better quality of prints are captured," he says.

National Fingerprints Manager, Eugene Wall, agrees.

"When fully in production, LiveScan technology will increase our clearance rate for fingerprint related crime, as well as reducing the number of previously unresolved prints left at crime scenes."

A further 40 LiveScan units will be deployed across 37 police sites in a staged roll-out during the first half of this year.

The geographic distribution of the LiveScan units is expected to capture 83 percent of the current prisoner fingerprint volume (78,000 fingerprint forms annually).

The remaining 17 percent of processing will continue to be captured using the traditional ink and paper process.

Project sponsor, Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope, says the roll out of LiveScan reflects the ongoing commitment to streamlining work processes aimed at freeing up staff so they can be visible out on the streets doing their job.

"It's marvelous to see LiveScan achieving the next step in the advance of Police biometric technology.

"All in all, it's good news for staff, Police and the public."