Department ends fingerprinting service

The new technology is supposed to keep molesters away from kids.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Job-hunting civilians who need fingerprints for background checks can no longer obtain them at the Youngstown Police Department, which charged $3 for city residents.
The police department does not have WebCheck, the electronic scanning equipment now used to record and transfer fingerprints, said Patrolman George Ross. For years, Ross and Patrolman Nick Marciano have provided ink-rolled fingerprinting in the fourth-floor record room.
Ross said the volume of fingerprints he and Marciano did depended on the hiring climate. Nowadays, most employers require background checks, he added.
Once fingerprinted, the job hunter took the fingerprint card and mailed it to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Ross said. BCI charges $15 for state and $24 for federal background checks.
In most cases, ink-rolled fingerprints have been replaced in Ohio by WebCheck, which uses the Internet to electronically transfer fingerprints to BCI.
Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro's Web site -- www.ag.state.oh.us-- points out that since 1993, several state laws have passed that require background checks for certain occupations, including insurance agents and those who work with children and the elderly. Other jobs that require checks are bus drivers, coaches, adult day care, hospitals and public institutions.
The new technology speeds up the results of background checks, which means critical decisions about hiring can be made quickly, according to WebCheck. Results of checks made through the mail can take 30 days.
Purpose
The program is touted to lessen the chances that child molesters and felons can harm schoolchildren and others who are vulnerable, such as the elderly.
Youngstown Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives, said Police Chief Jimmy F. Hughes is looking into getting an electronic fingerprint scanner. Brochures show the WebCheck start-up cost at $2,800.
Agencies that process a lot of civilian fingerprints, such as the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department, received the new electronic single-digit scanner at no charge. The tri-county area has several WebCheck fingerprint locations listed on the attorney general's Web site.
Capt. James M. Lewandowski said the sheriff's department collects the minimum fees -- $15 for state background checks and $24 for federal. The fees are forwarded to BCI.
"We have no add-on fee for the fingerprints," he said. "The law allows us to add a surcharge, but the sheriff chose not to."
The sheriff's department accepts money orders or cashiers' checks, no cash, Lewandowski said.
He said the equipment is digital optical scanning, like rolling fingers over glass. He said if federal checks are required, BCI forwards the fingerprints to the FBI.
Lewandowski said the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, located in the Voinovich Center downtown, is better staffed than the sheriff's department at this point to handle electronic fingerprinting. The BMV also provides a driving history for only $2, he said.
meade@vindy.com