Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) are pleased to announce that funding for a new fingerprint system for the crime lab at the Iredell County Sheriff’s (ISCO) office has cleared the final legislative hurdle. Foxx and McHenry were able to secure $150,000 for the project in the FY06 Science, Departments of State, Justice, Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Conference report that passed the House today. The legislation will now go to President Bush’s desk for final approval.

"I was pleased to work with Sheriff Phil Redmond to provide his department with the resources they need to keep criminals off the street," said Foxx. "Keeping my constituents safe is one of my top priorities. I want to thank Congressman McHenry and Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr for working with me to secure the funding for this very important project."

“The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office will use this money to continue their success in providing safety and security in our community,” said Congressman McHenry. “The funds will go toward increasing the capabilities of our law enforcement officials, which is an important step forward for the people of Iredell County. I commend Rep. Virginia Foxx and Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr for joining me in the fight to support our police force.”

The ISCO is constructing a crime lab which will eventually develop into a regional lab for other law enforcement agencies in the area. For that crime lab, ICSO needs federal assistance to purchase the Omnitrack Fingerprint Identification System. This system will help classify and identify fingerprints, as well as search the federal Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) for a match.

The outdated and inefficient current system only allows for fingerprints from booked inmates to be sent to AFIS for positive identification. ICSO needs a system by which officers can instantaneously submit an unknown latent fingerprint from a crime scene, or a fingerprint from an unknown person, for AFIS to analyze and identify. Currently, ICSO has fingerprint cards on file and analysts must physically go through each card for comparison to find a match. If there is no card match, the print is sent to the State Bureau of Investigation for analysis, which can take up to 18 months. The Omnitrack Fingerprint Identification System will expedite the identification process and also avoid human error.