PORTABLE DEVICE ALLOWS FIELD BOOKING.Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer NEWHALL - In an era when police forces are already stretched thin, a new hand-held device used to book offenders on the spot is being tested by a handful of law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). in the state, including one at the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. sheriff's station. At a driver's license Noun 1. driver's license - a license authorizing the bearer to drive a motor vehicle driver's licence, driving licence, driving license license, permit, licence - a legal document giving official permission to do something checkpoint Thursday on San Fernando Road San Fernando Road is a major street in the city and county of Los Angeles. It starts off in Castaic as The Old Road, passing through Santa Clarita and the Newhall Pass, where upon its intersection with Sierra Highway near the junction of the Golden State (I-5) and the in Newhall, one of 10 devices included in the six-month pilot program was out for its first official test drive. The MV-100 acted like a portable booking station, taking violators' fingerprints, photograph and other important information - tasks normally done at the station house. ``It takes the (information) necessary to complete a criminal booking in the state of California and sends it wirelessly,'' said Sgt. Thomas Smith Thomas Smith may refer to: U.S. congressmen:
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. . ``We're trying to get the functionality of field booking approved by the state.'' In about 15 minutes, a deputy can - without moving from the site where the stop was initiated - fingerprint, photograph and receive information about a person who may have a criminal history. Without the hand-held device, that same process can take between an hour to 90 minutes, Smith said. The pilot program, launched Jan. 6, will not cost the participating law enforcement agencies or the state anything, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Smith. The companies responsible for creating the device and the computer software are footing the bill. The companies included are Cross Match Technologies, headquartered in Florida; Computer Deductions Inc. in Santa Ana Santa Ana, city, El Salvador Santa Ana (sän'tä ä`nä), city (1993 pop. 129,873), W El Salvador. It is the second largest city in the country and the commercial and processing center for a sugarcane, coffee, and cattle region. ; and Minnesota-based Identix. ``These companies are seeing the need and trying to help law enforcement agencies with (their) work in the field,'' Smith said. ``Right now, there are two main functions: field booking and identifying'' the person. More than a means to save officers time, the device can play an integral part in fighting crime by establishing proof of who was physically issued the citation. ``If a guy gets a ticket and then comes to court and says, 'That wasn't me,' there are fingerprints, there's a photo of who it actually was that was issued that ticket that day. It would be pretty hard to argue your way out of a ticket that way.'' Eventually, if the device is approved at the state level, it could be used by field officers to determine, within minutes, if the person standing before them is wanted for outstanding warrants. For the pilot program, however, participants are more concerned about the machine's fundamental performance. Other law enforcement agencies in the state that are testing the hand-held booking devices include the Los Angeles, Culver City and Long Beach police departments, Smith said. Amy Raisin Darvish, (661) 257-5254 amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Sgt. T.J. Smith uses Crossmatch Crossmatch A laboratory test done to confirm that blood from a donor and blood from the recipient are compatible. Mentioned in: Blood Typing and Crossmatching, Heart Transplantation crossmatch MV-100 to take fingerprints from a suspect in the field, allowing faster booking. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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