STARKVILLE — The Oktibbeha County Sheriff”s Department soon will begin using some new, state-of-the-art fingerprinting technology in an effort to improve its outdated system.
The department last month was approved for a Mississippi Office of Homeland Security grant of more than $46,000, which will be used to purchase a Live Scan Fingerprinting system. The inkless Live Scan system will allow the Sheriff”s Department to instantly enter a suspect”s prints into a nationwide database and determine if the person is wanted by any law enforcement agencies, said OCSD Chief Deputy George Carrithers.
As soon as the Sheriff”s Department receives the grant money, it will order the Live Scan system, Carrithers said. He expects to receive the funds within the next two weeks to 30 days.
The Department”s existing fingerprinting system requires deputies to place a suspect”s fingers in ink, then press those fingers down on a card, Carrithers said. When those fingerprints go to Jackson for processing, it takes two to four weeks to determine if the suspect has any warrants out for his or her arrest, he said.
“When we do this (Live Scan system), we”ll be able to fingerprint them and find out immediately if they”re wanted or not,” Carrithers said.
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