Police fingerprinting labs have moved to the streets.

The federal government has granted the Milwaukee Police Department $500,000 for its Mobile Two Finger Identification System, devices that scan a person's fingerprints.

MPD will probably be able to purchase about 150 of the machines, according to Diana Rowe, captain of police with MPD.

"With the advances in technology now you can do (fingerprinting) right there in the street and not drag them down to the station," Rowe said.

MPD has had two such units for about a year, according to Rowe. She said the machines are built off cell phone technology, and they take about two minutes to load information. The new units will have both cellular and wireless technology, according to Rowe, and should load the information much faster.

"They're going to be a vast improvement," Rowe said.

The new units will be about the size of a palm pilot, smaller than the older versions, which require a satchel to carry, according to Rowe.

If the person being tested is on file with MPD, the new units will display the person's name, date of birth, race, sex and the unique identification number given to them by the police.

"It just gives law enforcement up-to-date equipment and gives them direct access in the field to thousands of fingerprints," said Zach Goldberg, spokesman for Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), who helped secure the funding for the project in the U.S. Congress. "It both quickens the process, and also makes it more accurate."

Goldberg said he thinks this is the first time the federal government has granted money to Milwaukee for the fingerprinting system.

"The city and the police department worked together to ask the federal government for this money," said Carlene Orig, spokeswoman for Mayor Tom Barrett. "This will save time and, in essence, money down the way."

Orig said the city lobbied for the money so the police would have more time to focus on important things.

MPD is unique in Wisconsin since the units access the city database. Other cities and counties access the state databases, according to Rowe. She said the Wisconsin Department of Justice is trying to get mobile fingerprinting units to every county in the state.

Currently the identification units, which look like large cell phones, access the state database instantly, tell the suspect's name and show if the suspect has any outstanding warrants, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Eventually Milwaukee's fingerprinting machines will be able to tell if the suspect has any warrants, but that feature will not be in these units, according to Rowe.

The Madison Police Department does not have any mobile units for the officers, said Emily Samson, public information officer at the department.

Dan Roman, investigator for the forensic services unit in Madison, said they do not have mobile ID units, and they don't plan on getting any soon. He said they use a Fast ID in headquarters, which matches fingerprints to their state identification number.

The new generation of the Mobile Two Finger Identification System will be coming out next spring, Rowe said, and they will then field-test four units. Rowe said special training sessions will be held for the new units, which should be out in June.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Dec. 2 2004.