Local News
New device allows deputies to scan fingerprints in the field
TBO.com
Published: February 8, 2013
SEBRING - Jamie Davidson suspected the man standing in front of him was giving a false name.Published: February 8, 2013
He "was convinced to provide the correct name when informed the Rapid ID unit was en route," said Davidson, a Highlands County Sheriff's Office sergeant.
Rapid ID is the latest tool in sheriff's high-tech crime arsenal. Smaller than a cellphone, its touch screen scans fingerprints.
"Even when subjects provide their correct names, but they have no identification on their person, Rapid ID can confirm their identity on the spot," Davidson said.
When time permits, and if suspects are booked into jail, a 10-print submission is still the best and most thorough identification using fingerprints, said sheriff's office spokeswoman Nell Hays in a press release.
However, deputies on the street can quickly determine with whom they are really dealing.
Rapid ID captures forensic-quality fingerprints, then searches databases of known Florida criminals and the FBI's Repository for Individuals of Special Concern.
"It works very well," said Sgt. Mickey Cloninger. "I have positively identified several subjects and made an arrest on a subject who attempted to hide his identity during an investigation."
When deputies found an unconscious man lying in an orange grove, Sgt. Anthony McGann used Rapid ID, then found his family.
The Highlands County Sheriff's Office bought nine $2,000 units using forfeiture funds — money seized from criminal enterprises. The north and south patrol sergeants on each of four squads have one, as well as the sergeant in the Safe Neighborhoods Unit.
Although the court's search-and-seizure rules apply to the devices, Sheriff Susan Benton was also pleased.
"Anything we can do to provide our deputies with current accurate information on subjects they are dealing with on the street increases their chances of going home at the end of their shift," she said.