Pulled over in Kansas?

[Highwayman]

Posted on Wed, Mar. 22, 2006

Pulled over in Kansas? Get ready to show your license, registration — and fingerprints

By BENITA Y. WILLIAMS
The Kansas City Star


If you are stopped by police in Kansas, don’t be surprised if the officer pulls out a little black box and takes your fingerprints.

The gadget allows officers to identify people by fingerprints without hauling them to the police station.

Over the next year the Kansas Bureau of Investigation will test 60 of the devices with law enforcement agencies around the state. State officials said similar tests are being planned for New York, Milwaukee and Hawaii.

“This is definitely new,” said Gary Page, Overland Park Police Department crime lab. “It’s been talked about, but as far as I know they are not in use anywhere in the metro.”

The tests in Kansas are part of a bigger $3.6 million upgrade to the KBI’s statewide fingerprint database, unveiled Tuesday by the KBI and Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline.

■ The system:

Called the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System, it is a statewide database of more than 10 million fingerprints taken from people arrested in Kansas. The Missouri Highway Patrol maintains a similar database. Both systems link to the FBI fingerprint database.

■ How it works:

In Kansas, 54 law enforcement agencies have traded the ink-and-paper fingerprinting method for biometric imaging, which electronically scans a digital image of the print. Sixty Missouri agencies use biometric scanning. Police also can scan the fingers of corpses and people they arrest to match them against prints in the system. Results are obtained in seconds instead of hours. The inked cards still used by some smaller departments are also scanned into the statewide systems.

■ Why upgrade?

Kansas could no longer locate replacement parts or anyone to service the old system, which was launched in 1990 and upgraded in 1998. The first phase was funded with a $752,000 homeland security grant. The KBI is applying for similar grants to pay the balance. All upgrades should be completed by January 2007.

■ The portable devices:

Police place a person’s two index fingers on a screen. Wireless technology sends the image to the database for comparison. Prints scanned in the field will not be stored.

■ What else is new:

The system will analyze palm prints, which were stored but could not be read before. The system also will store mug shots and pictures of scars, tattoos and other identifying marks.

© 2006 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...ntent=ksc_news

[lurker]

Whew.... not a word about paws.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by lurker

Whew.... not a word about paws.

Or Maws.

[TexKan]

Here's my thought.

IF I'm being arrested.......... I deserve to be fingerprinted.

IF I'm being pulled over for a non arrestable offense - you are gonna have hell gettin my fingerprints. I see some civil rights suits in the making here....... It's like blowin the tipsy meter......... if you are drinkin and drivin....... NEVER blow........ any cop will tell ya that... hell they don't do the test themselves. It requires a court order to draw blood..... I can promise ya I'm not gonna hand my fingers over to anyone............ or any state to help them fill some data base. I certainly don't have anything to hide and have been fingerprinted many times....... but for security clearance....... good thing I'm a good driver and don't get pulled over often..........It will be interesting to see how long it takes this idea to get to court......

[Highwayman]

Ah, come on TK, give them a finger.

[Lone Gunman]

Hell give em two ya do have two hands.

[notyoubob]

This is one of those "government knows best" BS ideas.
E.G. If you're not doing anything wrong, you shouldn't mind if I go through your things, your house, car, etc.
My reply, which has never been agreed to by a law enforcement officer, has been: "Then you don't mind if I or any or my friends, show up at your house unannounced in the middle of the night and check out all your stuff, house, garage, computer, etc."
They seem to think THAT might be infringing on their private life.
My philosophy is, if you're dirty, the law can get you without having to cheat.

[NoLongerInRadioGuy]

On the flip side of this...while Kansas does not currently have any law in place saying one has to identify himself to an officer at any time, persons who are driving ARE required to identify themselves and to prove they have a valid driver's license. Most people do this by carrying their driver's license with them and show the officers as identification. However, from my experience, about 50% of people seem to not know where their license is or else intentionally did not carry it with them when they left their house. For instance, if I got pulled over and knew I had a warrant or was wanted or just did not have a DL, I could give the officer my brother's name and date of birth. I know he is not wanted and he does have a valid license. By asking for fingerprints of someone who cannot identify themselves by having their valid DL in possession, the process will identify them IF their prints are already on file.

In good ole DC, we do have a problem with people driving without a license and not having any ID at all when they get pulled over. And believe it or not, a lot of people in DC have two or more names they use as their real name, their work name, their hyphenated name, etc. If a person is pulled over and has no ID, and gives the name John Smith with a DOB of June 22, 1973 - a quick field check of prints might save a lot of time by instantly identifying this person as using the John Smith as an alias and be able to give their real name. I can see where this would be very useful and would like to try it myself on traffic stops - but only when the driver has no ID.

[Detector]

I'm sorta with NLIRG. While I don't like the idea of having my STUFF gone through, If there is a legitimate reason for a need to search I don't mind. IF using biometrics will make identifying people more efficient by saving time(and money) and help catch criminals, I'm all for it.

I guess I'm one of those "I've got nothing to hide" type of people.

Now if you get pulled over just to get your finger prints I got a big problem with that.

Again, I feel IF they have a legitimate reason to pull you over or search your stuff, then I say giv'em the right to know who you really are.

[Army_of_One]

Originally Posted by Detector

I'm sorta with NLIRG.

Me too. My take is...what is the return or benefit to "Joe Citizen" for using this technology. Running your prints for ID doesn't hurt you if you are not doing anything wrong but it MAY get people arrested that can go around the system otherwise as stated by NLIRG. Just think, if they run the prints and make more arrests maybe a few more criminals will be taken off the street. If just a few are arrested then why not support the program? If you have nothing to hide then you should SUPPORT this program....and Texie...If someone is drinking and driving they should blow...they should say.."yes, i'm drinking and driving...yes I'm putting my life and others life at risk...take me in officer"....not...I don't wanna blow and hopefully I'll beat the charge in court....