Cleveland: Crimefighting technology

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- An Internet tool in the hands of trained investigators is producing more clues to solve more crimes, law enforcement officials say.

The Bradley County Sheriff's Office is one of a few law enforcement agencies in the region linked to the FBI's Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS. The system includes palm prints, too.

"We are getting more from a crime scene now," said Capt. Steve Lawson, who heads the sheriff's office's Criminal Investigations Division. He said the fingerprint ID system is a big reason the overall case closure rate has soared to 50 percent.

The county department bought its AFIS equipment with a U.S. Homeland Security grant. It costs the county about $25,000 a year to maintain.

Sgt. Monica Datz, one of Bradley County's latent fingerprint examiners, said prints from anywhere can be scanned into the system and matched with items from a crime scene or an item brought to the lab.

"We can view the prints on the screen. If it looks like a match, then we pull a hard copy of the fingerprint card. Then we sit down and do a manual comparison," Sgt. Datz said.

The system not only identifies criminal suspects, she said. It also can be used to trace missing persons.

Capt. Lawson said fingerprint findings must be backed up by a second examiner before they can be used in court as evidence. The department has two latent fingerprint examiners, which lessens the time it takes to get ready for court, he said.

Sometimes law enforcement agencies in nearby towns and counties, including Chattanooga and Cleveland, call on Bradley County for help, Capt. Lawson said.

"Criminals don't recognize county lines," Mr. Lawson said. So a series of burglaries in west Polk County is likely to involve victims in east Bradley County, he said.

Bradley County does not process other departments' evidence, he said, but the examiners can look at latent prints.

He tells the latent fingerprint examiners they can help others but not to let outside cases create a backlog.

"I make sure our cases are handled first," he said, since county taxpayers pay for maintaining the system.

Earlier this week, Bradley County commissioners approved amendments to a draft budget scheduled to be voted on later.

Sheriff Tim Gobble said he thinks Cleveland should help pay the cost of operating AFIS. He said the Cleveland Police Department is the area's second-largest beneficiary of having AFIS in Bradley County.

"I know the city has a difficult financial situation as well. But they are a big user of the AFIS system as well. In the past they used to cover part of that cost," Mr. Gobble said.

"It does seem logical to me that they should help fund that cost," the sheriff said.