And no mention of IDX...
cnn.com
FBI says new fingerprint system makes ID checks a snap
August 10, 1999
Web posted at: 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT)
From staff and wire reports
CLARKSBURG, West Virginia (CNN) -- A $640 million electronic database of fingerprints will help police around the country decide within hours whether a suspect should be freed on bail or held in custody, FBI officials said Tuesday.
Instead of waiting more than 20 days for critical information, judges and law enforcement agencies in 15 states now can uncover a suspect's identity and criminal history before leaving the courthouse.
All 50 states are expected to be connected to the system within the next few years.
"Timely identification information is particularly crucial in instances where a person has been charged with a crime and is awaiting a bail hearing," said FBI Director Louis Freeh in a statement.
Freeh and Attorney General Janet Reno are expected to attend a dedication service for the system on Wednesday at the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System began operating July 28. It reduces to electronic data some 34 million fingerprint cards, the equivalent of 18 stacks as tall as New York's Empire State Building.
It also slashes the wait for civil background checks from more than three months to just 24 hours, said James DeSarno, assistant director in charge of the Criminal Justice Information Services Division.
The advanced technology will rapidly respond to about 50,000 fingerprint inquiries daily. The response will include a criminal history, if the suspect has one. If a person provides a false name, the new system will still be able to match fingerprints and make a positive identification.
The original price was $520 million, but that went up to $640 million when Congress and an advisory board added more functions and requirements to the system, said FBI spokesman Steve Fischer.
System 'will contribute to a safer America'
The debut of the system, which has been in the works for 10 years, also was delayed. The original target date was November 1997, Fischer said.
Before the new system was available, fugitives and repeat offenders often were released by judges who had no criminal history to peruse before the bail hearing, Freeh and DeSarno said.
"This quicker and more efficient identification technology will contribute to a safer America," DeSarno said.
The FBI receives about 50,000 fingerprints a day, about half of them for criminal matters. About 10 percent, or 5,000, are for people being arrested for the first time, so the FBI has no prior data on them.
Several federal agencies, as well as 15 states, can now access and submit fingerprints electronically, DeSarno said.
States already using the system are Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, New Mexico, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Georgia, Mississippi and Massachusetts.
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