| The equipment shown
here is located in the Booking area of the jail. In the old days,
Correctional Officers rolled ink onto the inmate's hands and then
transferred the fingerprints to a set of cards. One small mistake
meant starting all over again. Now, with the Identix Live Scan, an
Officer simply places the fingers of an inmate onto a small glass
plate located on the machine. The Identix Live Scan scans the
fingerprints and puts a picture of the prints up on a screen. Bad
print? Not a problem, the officer puts that finger on the glass
plate again and takes another scan. No ink, no messes, and
much-improved fingerprints.
A second part of the
booking process has also been automated and made for efficient. Mug
shots, in the past, were taken with a 35mm camera. Then the film had
to be developed and you had to hope that the picture turned out.
Now, mug shots are taken with an electronic camera. The image is
projected up on the screen for instant checking. An additional
feature is the ability to produce lineups using the system. A number
of pictures can be brought up at the same time and then printed out
to form a photo lineup. No more dragging people in and making them
stand in a line underneath spotlights. The victim can view the
photos without the fears of being identified or intimidated.
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