SANTA CRUZ, Calif.- New numbers show new finger print technolgy is helping Santa Cruz police stay on top of crime, even after a prison realignment plan is sending more criminals on the streets.
That old saying good things come in small packages couldn't be more true for Santa Cruz police and this mobile fingerprint scanner.
"You obtain their fingerprint through a biometric reader on the device itself and within a minute you get a return with a photo to confirm id," said
It came in handy Friday, when Central Coast News was with Sgt. Dan Flippo who met an officer and a drug user.
The new technology means officers don't have to take someone down to the station to get a real identity if the suspect won't give it up. It couldn't have come at a better time.
"With the transition and AB 109 release we're seeing more probationers and parolees on the streets...They often times try to provide false information to officers when contacted while engaged in illegal activity," said Deputy Chief Rick Martinez.
With the new hand held devices officers don't have to play the "name game," saving time and money. Turns out, the man we met was an AB109 product. Released from prison to the local Santa Cruz County Probation Department, he didn't check in with his probation officer when he should've.
In the last six months, officers have used the hand held device close to 50 times and over half identified a suspect already in the system. It's even helping make more arrests.
"Just last week we had a guy who we stopped for drug sales and normally it would've been a misdemeanor citation...We used the finger print machine and found out he had a felony warrant...Then we found he had heroin on him and scales," said Sgt. Flippo.
The program is run through the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. It is funded through a senate bill that allows the county to collect a one dollar vehicle registration fee.
