Now it’s farewell to police inkpads

A REVOLUTIONARY digital system that will replace the traditional ink and paper method of taking fingerprints has been piloted at Huntingdon Police Station. Livescan, the digital system for taking fingerprints, has been placed in three police stations in

A REVOLUTIONARY digital system that will replace the traditional ink and paper method of taking fingerprints has been piloted at Huntingdon Police Station.

Livescan, the digital system for taking fingerprints, has been placed in three police stations in Cambridgeshire as part of a national initiative to speed up the fingerprinting process.

Whereas before officers had the messy task of taking fingerprints with ink and paper, Livescan is a faster and easier way of completing the process.

The system allows information on the detained person to be generated within minutes, whereas previously officers may have had to wait up to 24 hours. This means any warnings on that person can be acted upon immediately.

Vicky Lewis, Livescan liaison officer, said: "This piece of technology is bringing fingerprinting into the 21st century replacing a technique that has been used by officers for over 100 years.

"The system will save officers hours and will mean we will be able to get important information about a detained person within minutes."

Livescan has been piloted at Huntingdon Police Station since Thursday August 3 and is now fully up and running there and at Wisbech and Parkside Police Stations.

During the system's first week at Huntingdon Police Station it flagged up two wanted persons within minutes of their arrival in custody.