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To: David who wrote (25338)	12/11/2003 11:02:15 AM
From: steve	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 26039

Legal hitch for police prints device By Andrea Petrie December 12, 2003 Fingerprinting technology worth almost $3 million is sitting idle in Victorian police stations because its use is inadmissible in court. The 28 Live Scan fingerprint machines, valued at $100,000 each, have been sitting in all major metropolitan and country police stations since July in anticipation of the Crimes Amendment Bill being passed. The bill would allow police to use fingerprint evidence gained electronically in court. The machines convert electronic images from a video scanner into binary codes so fingerprints can be compared within 20 minutes. Usually impressions are taken from a person using ink and paper and then put on computer file for comparison, a process that can take days. Force command had planned to teach two officers from every station how to use the machines during August and September so they could be in use by October. A police spokeswoman said that while training had been delayed, police would not have been able to use the technology, anyway. "A legislative amendment at State Government level is required to enable us to use Live Scan for criminal investigation matters," she said. Opposition police spokesman Kim Wells said he could not understand why the money was not spent elsewhere within the force. "Why you would spend millions of dollars on machines and then realise . . . you have to go and get the legislation changed?" Police Association Secretary Paul Mullett called on the State Government and the Opposition to ensure the legislation was passed "as a matter of urgency". A State Government spokesman said the legislation to support Live Scan was contained in a priority bill to go before Parliament in the autumn session. theage.com.au steve