D.C. Jail to Fingerprint Visitors, Check for Warrants

All visitors to the Washington, D.C. jail soon will have their fingerprints scanned and checked against law enforcement databases for outstanding warrants.

The D.C. Department of Corrections is already using the live scan fingerprint technology on inmates when they enter and leave the jail, corrections officials said. The digital technology allows the department to take an image of an inmates fingerprint and check it against D.C. police databases to confirm the inmates identity.

Starting in March, the fingerprint-scanning technology will be put to use for all visitors, DOC spokeswoman Sylvia Lane said.

Through a $134,000 grant from the [federal] Office of Justice Grants, we will be [using] the technology in our visitors control area to assist [D.C. police] in the identification of individuals with outstanding warrants, said a Washington Examiner report. If a match is made, DOC will detain the visitor and contact the police department and the visitor will be taken into custody.

The jail currently only requires that visitors present a valid identification, and names of visitors are not checked against outstanding warrants.

Corrections is also researching the use of retinal scanning for inmates, the report said, adding that eye scans will be used to ensure positive identification of individuals committed to or released from the jail.

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