New fingerprint scanners to ID suspects

Fingerprint scanners which help police identify suspects on the streets in a matter of seconds will come into force in the West Midlands next week.

Pocket-sized devices will be used to instantly tell police if a person is a convicted criminal.

The handheld machine was used in a trial in east Birmingham and proved so successful, 70 machines will now be rolled out across the region.

Police chiefs today said the machines would mean suspects do not have to be hauled into a police station for the long-drawn out fingerprinting process.

The gadgets are linked by satellite to a national fingerprint database, which instantly tells an officer if prints scanned belong to a criminal.

Officers can then cross-reference to national police database, the Police National Computer, to see if a person is wanted by the police or courts.

West Midlands Police Chief Inspector Darren Walsh said: "The scanners cut bureaucracy and save countless police hours by keeping officers out on the streets rather than hauling suspects through potentially drawn-out custody procedures.

"Take an example of a warrant executed at an address. We may find several people inside. The scanners tell us immediately whether any of them have a criminal record and subsequently, after running details through PNC, if they're wanted.

"It also means suspects can't try providing false details because the device confirms their identity."

Scanners will be dished out between neighbourhood police priority action teams, officers patrolling public transport networks, motorway police and officers from the guns and gangs division.

Images scanned are not permanently stored on the devices.