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Austin Police Use Wireless Device To Catch People Lying About Who They Are


It’s a tool to help catch criminals before they can lie about their identity. Austin Police are using wireless fingerprint scanners, saving them from making several trips downtown to discover someone’s actual name.

"Believe it or not, not everyone is honest when it comes to who they are,” said Austin Police Officer Eric Cortez. “So if we feel that their identity is in question a device like this works great.”

The device is called Bluecheck, and Austin Police have been using the technology for more than a year.

"They will give us their real first name or a different last name, or their correct first or last name and a different date of birth, and if we feel like they are being slightly deceptive we can pull out the device and scan their fingerprint,” said Cortez.

The technology can scan the tiny grooves and patterns on the pads from the field and run them instantly through a database.

It’s a process which from start to finish can take about 30 seconds to get a hit.

Police say it’s not in all city cruisers, but split up throughout the districts.

By Adam Racusin