NCJ Number
111262
Date Published
1986
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Michigan needs an automated fingerprint identification system and more complete and accurate central criminal history records to strengthen criminal justice operations at all levels.
Abstract
The current manual fingerprint system requires at least 10 days to confirm an identification, and it is almost impossible to check latent fingerprints manually against the large group of print cards in the central repository. The automated identification systems being used by several cities and States can compare a complete set of fingerprints to those on file in a short time with 95-99 percent accuracy. Defects in Michgan's central repository of criminal histories have arisen from inadequate technology and the lack of close coordination between local agencies and the State government in supplying and exchanging information. A plan to overcome these defects has been developed by a State-local advisory body created as part of the effort to develop an automated fingerprint identification system. Rather than using the police arrest as the key to the development of a case history, the proposed plan calls for initial reporting to the State on the basis of the prosecutor's charge, which would be given a basic identification number. Improved recordkeeping procedures and systems at the local and State levels plus additional computer capacity in the State police data processing division would be required to implement this system.