All West Virginia State Police detachments and seven other law enforcement agencies statewide have LiveScan fingerprint technology, which digitally scans fingerprints when a suspect is booked for a crime, said Sgt. J.E. Skidmore with the West Virginia State Police.
The information sharing capability is part of ICE's Secure Communities, a comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States, said Mark Medvesky, ICE spokesman.
LiveScan fingerprint scans are now checked against the Department of Justice's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), the FBI's criminal history record, as well as the Department of Homeland Security's immigration records known as the Automated Biometric Identification System.
If a fingerprint matches a print in the biometrics immigration records, a newly developed automated system notifies ICE, which evaluates each case to determine the individual's immigration status and takes the appropriate action. The system identifies both legal and illegal immigrants, Medvesky said.
"The most serious crimes are dealt with first," Medvesky said. "Priority is given to aliens convicted of the most serious offenses, such as major drug offenses, murder, rape and kidnapping."
Skidmore said LiveScan machines are expensive, and he is not aware of federal funding to aid law enforcement agencies.
"In time, I think we'll see more and more West Virginia agencies using the technology, but for now, there are only seven agencies other than the state police that have them," said Skidmore. "Basically, we are capturing about 60 percent of West Virginia criminals with LiveScan fingerprinting."
Wood County Sheriff's Office does not have funding for LiveScan technology.
"It's on our wish list," said Wood County Sheriff Jeff Sandy. "It sounds like a great system, but funding isn't available for the digital fingerprint technology right now. It would cost our department around $25,000 for the system and training."
ICE is using information sharing capabilities in 746 jurisdictions in 34 states. By 2013, ICE plans to be able to respond to all fingerprint matches generated nationwide, according to a press release from ICE.
Since ICE began using this enhanced information sharing capability in October 2008, immigration officers have removed from the United States more than 46,800 aliens convicted of a crime.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Natalee Seely
Quelle/Source: News and Sentinel, 29.10.2010
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