Liberty police implement high-tech system

By Linda Linonis

Police department implements high-tech system

The fingerprints are checked against those in a state database.

LIBERTY — Technology has improved the way the police take and identify fingerprints.

Detective Sgt. Robert A. “Bob” Greaf said the Liberty Police Department “went live” with a high-tech system, Live Scan, last week.

The electronic fingerprint scanner was obtained through a federal Justice Assistance Grant of $11,000.

The computer and software, at a cost of $3,000, were paid for by the department’s drug fund.

Greaf said the equipment replaces the ink method, which had served police for decades but had its drawbacks.

He noted that the ink method sometimes resulted in unintended smudges and smears that produced unclear prints.

The new method eliminates those potential problems.

“The computer tells you if there’s a problem right on the spot,” Greaf said. “This electronic method is more efficient and accurate.”

Greaf said the electronic fingerprint method also “speeds up the process” of identification when prints are sent electronically to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

The BCI matches prints with names. “The prints are checked against those in their database,” he said.

Greaf said the computer software gets a good, clear scan on all digits before the scan is recorded.

The officer taking the prints also can input information about missing fingers or fingertips, which tells the computer to bypass that digit. That information also is noted in the print information.

He said the department also keeps a printout of the fingerprints.

Greaf said he believes Liberty is the fourth department in the Mahoning Valley to acquire the equipment, including the Mahoning and Trumbull county sheriff’s departments.

“This brings us into the 21st century with this equipment,” said Capt. Toby A. Meloro. “It tells you right away if the prints are good.”

Greaf said the 19 members of the department have been trained to use the fingerprint scanning equipment.

linonis@vindy.com