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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday March 29, 2008 - 11 No hiding shady past from new fingerprint system By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The Halton Regional Police Services Board has approved the $128,794 purchase of three Cogent Livescan Fingerprinting Systems that, when deployed, will greatly improve the ability of the police to determine whether suspects in custody have already run afoul of the law and how to deal with them. The new systems electronically send a suspect's fingerprint information along with the suspect's description, pending charges, address, etc., to the RCMP who process it and, in the event of conviction, update the suspect's criminal record. Detective Sgt. Dave Broughton of the Halton Police Forensic Unit noted that the systems are light years ahead of what the police are currently working with. "The system that we're working with now is completely manual, it's all hard copy (paper)," he said. "There's quite a paper flow that goes back and forth between us and the RCMP. They take the set of fingerprints we send them and check their database to see if it's someone whose been arrested before and if it's a new person, they issue them a new fingerprint number." The RCMP then sends a photocopy with this information back to police who hold onto it until there is an outcome at trial. When this happens, the information is sent back to the RCMP, who then update the suspect's criminal record. The problem police have with the existing system is that sending these physical fingerprint files back and forth takes weeks or even months to be processed with the RCMP currently dealing with a huge backlog. The new electronic systems are expected to cut this turn around time down to hours, which Broughton noted is important as having access to an up-todate criminal record can determine an officer's course of action when it comes to dealing with a suspect. "If someone has been arrested and convicted of failing to appear in court before, that may affect an officer's decision as to whether a person is held for bail or released on a `promise to appear order,'" he said. "It also has an effect on sentencing. If a person is convicted of impaired driving, and then they're arrested and convicted of impaired driving again, if that first conviction didn't show up on their criminal record, that suspect is going to miss out on the mandatory sentence that comes with a second impaired driving conviction." These new systems are also important when it comes to clearing civilians for specific work where background checks are required "If someone comes in and says they want to work as a coach with a hockey organization and they need a clearance to say they don't have a criminal record, that they haven't been convicted of a sex crime against a child, that's something we'd run their fingerprints for," said Broughton. Once the new systems are in place, the RCMP is guaranteeing a no more than 72hour turn around time for these types of clearances. The Livescan devices, which are expected to be in place in about a month, are being deployed to maximize efficiency with one intended for the cellblock area of Milton Court to eliminate the almost daily need to transport prisoners to Halton Police Headquarters for fingerprint processing. A second device will improve the fingerprinting services of Milton's 12 Division, while Halton Police Headquarters in Oakville will receive the third. Learning Traveller Summer Language Camps · Are you between 13 and 17 years old? · Do you love languages? · Do you want to meet other teens from around the world? If so, then join one of our Language Immersion Camps this summer and improve your practical language skills while meeting like-minded teens from other countries. Spanish · Costa Rica ­ San Jose · Spain ­ Malaga, Barcelona Italian · Italy ­ Lignano German · Germany ­ Potsdam, Munich French · France ­ Paris, Biarritz, Montpellier · Switzerland ­ Leysin, Montreux · Canada ­ Montreal Japanese · Japan ­ Kanazawa Chinese (Mandarin) · China ­ Shanghai Auditor General speaks at Oakville Chamber breakfast The Oakville Chamber of Commerce is inviting all interested parties to a breakfast with Canada's Auditor General Sheila Fraser. Fraser will speak about her role as an Officer of Parliament and as the government's external auditor on Tuesday, May 13 at the Oakville Conference and Banquet Centre, 2515 Wyecroft Rd. The breakfast will last from 7:30-9 a.m. and will cost Oakville Chamber of Commerce members $35 (plus GST) to attend, nonmembers $45 (plus GST) to attend, while a reservation for a table of eight will cost $245 (plus GST). To reserve a seat, registration forms can be faxed to Events Co-ordinator Brendan Stewart at 905-845-6475, emailed to brendan@oakvillechamber.com or mailed to Oakville Chamber of Commerce, 2521 Wyecroft Rd. Oakville, ON, L6L 6P8. For more information, call the Events Hotline: 905-845-6613 ext. 28. Visit our website for more information www.learningtraveller.com Call 1-888-386-1411 MAKE LANGUAGES COME ALIVE! Summer School & Summer Camp Kindergarten to Grade 8 · · · · · · · · Small Class Size - Air-Conditioned Classrooms Fully Qualified Teachers - Full & Half Day Programs Available BUSING AVAILABLE A Summer Boost to Ensure September 2008 Success Please call 905-319-7011 or visit www.talcacademy.com