Gouverneur to receive fingerprint scanner

GOUVERNEUR — The village is determining how to pay for renovations to a room to house a fingerprint scanner procured by St. Lawrence County Sheriff Kevin M. Wells through a Homeland Security grant.

The state requires law enforcement agencies to send fingerprint submissions to the criminal database electronically, but Gouverneur has been unable to comply because it lacked the money to buy the machine.

“We do ink and roll,” Officer Laurina M. Greenhill told village trustees at a meeting Tuesday. “The state has not been after us, but there will be a point where it will push the issue.”

If the department does not have its own machine at that point, it would have to travel to another department to send fingerprints electronically. The only other village police department in the county without a fingerprint scanner is Canton, which has access to a machine in the Sheriff’s Department.

The advantage of the scanner is that it can identify people quickly if their prints are already in the system, even if they do not have identification or are carrying false identification, Mr. Wells said.

Having a fingerprint scanner in Gouverneur helps agencies other than the village police, including deputies.

“It puts one at the southern end of the county,” Mr. Wells said. “This will assist Gouverneur and help us at the same time.”

Village police want to put the machine, which is large, in what they would like to make into a room in one of the fire department’s former bays in the municipal building.

Village officials agreed to spend up to $4,000 from the $8,600 left in a building maintenance fund toward the $9,000 cost of constructing the room and said they hoped the remainder could come from proceeds from the Drug Task Force.

However, Chief David C. Whitton warned there could be restrictions on the use of Drug Task Force funds and Mrs. Greenhill said the village should support its officers.

“The village needs to start investing in the police department,” she said. “This is a good way to start.”

Mr. Wells said the village should do its share.

“It’s a $25,000 piece of equipment that they’re mandated to have and we’re helping them out with that,” he said. “You would hope they plan for the rest.”

The village will do what it can, Trustee Charles W. Newvine said. “We will explore all options to get you that room,” he said.