Mobile fingerprint scanners see action by police force

One of our more unique characteristics would be our fingerprints – it seems that no two people have the same set of fingerprints, making it a unique “signature” that is often used by law enforcement agencies to bring crooks to book. The Met Police have decided to take things one step further, by equipping themselves with mobile fingerprint scanners which are capable of running a fingerprint check against a national database, taking mere seconds to complete this particular task. Scotland Yard, Britain’s largest police force, has so far sent out around 350 of such mobile fingerprint scanners that resemble phones to its officers stationed across London.

This technology is not only useful to combat crime, but it can also see action during times of distress, such as identifying unconscious or fatal victims at accident scenes in a jiffy. Metropolitan Police Service’s assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, said, “Evidence has shown that a full identification arrest can tie-up both the subject and the police officer for several hours.” Biometric data specialists 3M Cogent will supply the system to the Met police.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Medical
Tags: scanner