Police force gets fingerprinting system

fingerprintingWith a mission to fight crime and promote law and order in Dominica, members of the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force are now armed with a new finger printing system.

The automated finger printing identification system which was donated to the Police Force by the USAID, was formally handed over to the department on Tuesday 10th December, 2013 but has been in operation since June.

Assistant Superintendent Cuffy Williams, head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), said ten police officers have been trained in the use of the system – five of them from the CID and the rest from other departments within the force.

“Since the introduction of the system, the Criminal Investigations Department and the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force by extension, has been successful in identifying more than a dozen suspects in cold burglary and other like offences,” he said.

The system has been described as a tool that will enhance the capabilities of police officers in detection and persecution of crimes.

In the meantime, Superintendent Ainsworth Irish added that prior to the official handing over, finger print experts visited Dominica and trained a few officers to use the system efficiently.

The Automated Finger Printing Identification System was provided to Dominica under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.

Through the program, all CARICOM members and the Dominican Republic, collaborate with the USA in security matters.

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28 Comments

  1. Clueless
    December 11, 2013

    Long overdue but glad it’s finally arrived. Next step, fill up the data base. Go into all the schools and gather their finger prints of all the students. Election coming so get as many citizens while they are voting.

    • C
      December 12, 2013

      Your fingerprint remains your private property. As such its not the legal for the government to just put non-criminals on a database. To do that the laws will have to be amended.

      • Black Nobility
        March 12, 2014

        So i guess when you go and get your license your face dont go into a database. They could have gotten a face recognition system instead. To get an id you should be subjected to have your prints on file stop with the caveman thinking.

  2. Lewis Carroll
    December 11, 2013

    Wow a technology invented in 1858 has just arrived.
    So when will DNA profiling arrive?

    • Justice and Truth
      December 13, 2013

      :lol: :lol: :lol: I wonder where was I in 1858? :lol: :lol: :lol:

  3. Marlpardee
    December 11, 2013

    That sounding like real dabar. I am not saying this is not a good thing but why don’t u all worry about building a proper health care system to take care of the people of dominca. Prioritize my people.

  4. wow
    December 11, 2013

    that’s great news in 2013 almost 2014? all u must be joking in dominica man. only now finger print system coming on stream and we are supposed to praise somebody for that happening? give me a break

  5. Anonymous
    December 11, 2013

    Every one who has been convicted of a crime shuold be finger printed and that information should go into a data base, so it can be used in the future, any one who apply and get a government job should be finger printed including the police and the prime minister down, such computer has been in operation in the U.S.A for over twenty years, and it has proven very useful, thank to who ever provide those tool to the Island people , and the police force let us hope they use it wisely, I hope we the people of Dominica get the D.N.A. thecgnology soon so we can catch the rapist, and the. murderers

  6. maco
    December 11, 2013

    I hope this finger print identification system will be properly used and not used to falsely arrest some people. I know the officers were trained but I hope there are proper verifications to ensure no one is falsely arrested.

    • grell
      December 11, 2013

      they cant make a mistake no ones fingerprint is the same match.

      • Anonymous
        December 11, 2013

        Neither is DNA, but if you don’t know how to read the results……………

  7. met yo
    December 11, 2013

    Persecuting? Smh

  8. Observer
    December 11, 2013

    Great news!

  9. help us father jah
    December 11, 2013

    this is so funny. Some years back (more than 5 years)some one broke into our house. When the police finally came the told us they could not take finger prints because there was dust on the window where the thief tried to pass. so what is this about now getting a finger print scanner this is real funny!!!

  10. smdh
    December 11, 2013

    So why were the police taking finger prints at crime scene before, if they didnt hve the necessary equipment? Garson allu not easy in that country eh!

    • Observer
      December 11, 2013

      FYI -Because the send the prints outside Dominica for the investigation- now they can do it on island.

  11. Anonymous
    December 11, 2013

    The initiative is all well and good (must be applauded)and even overdue one might add but….How does the system work? How is finger print data being generated? What are we INPUTTING into the system in order to get that desired OUTPUT? Is it that people who are CHARGED for allegedly committing a crime get finger printed and their bio-statistics kept on a file, or is it that only people CONVICTED in a court of law can be finger printed? Or are we thinking of finger printing all Dcans by non-conventional means (passport and ID cards applications)as a means of developing the database? What is the law with regards to this because accoroding to Assistant Superintendent Williams “Since the introduction of the system, the Criminal Investigations Department and the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force by extension, has been successful in identifying more than a dozen suspects in cold burglary and other like offences”. A bit confusing and tends to suggest one and/or a combination of the following: (1)These dozen suspects have committed crimes and are known outside of Dominica and hence the ability of the system to track their bio-stats,(2)These dozen suspects had their finger prints encripted by a forensic expert at a crime scene sometime in the past and have been preserved for a day like today!!(3) These dozen suspects have recently commited crimes, have been in police custody and have had their finger prints recently analyzed since this piece of equipment came to DA. How else can you positively match a finger print from an unknown source (crime scene) to a physical person if the data base does not have any previous records of that suspected criminal? CDPF get this one right because I see a lot of lawsuits for wrongful accusation coming your way!!!

  12. shaka zulu
    December 11, 2013

    Great!! one more tool to fight crime. Much needed

  13. hmmm
    December 11, 2013

    about time no lie

  14. sentient
    December 11, 2013

    now no stones will be left unturned. not really :)

    • BEB
      December 12, 2013

      The criminals are getting more educated, they will get something to do to beat or counter attack the system

  15. Jesus help us.
    December 11, 2013

    Thank You for letting the criminals know that they will now require to wear gloves when doing the crime.

    • BEB
      December 12, 2013

      They should have bragged about that equipment, that is saying to the criminals to be careful when committing crimes

      • BEB
        December 12, 2013

        I mean “have never bragged”

  16. Pedro
    December 11, 2013

    Its about time! We are thankful for that. There was a time though when USAID was more about people development in the region. Now we seem to only hear about security and drug interaction concerns. I think the US can do better though than just trying to get bad influence from reaching its shores.

    • Justice and Truth
      December 13, 2013

      You should know that crimes have increased and continue to increase in this godless and immoral age. It appears to be a way of life now. The US is fully aware of that.
      If the US assists the small islands to combat crimes, it will also be to their benefit that crimes will decrease in the US and elsewhere in the world. We are all neighbors to a certain extent.
      Note that some D/can nationals are deported. When they arrive some of them, if not all of them resort to crimes, the likes of which did not occur in those days. Be thankful that D/ca is aided by the US.

    • Justice and Truth
      December 13, 2013

      Police, do not forget yor fingerprinting system when you are called for whatever crimes.
      The next system is a DNA one. Does Dominica have one? Many crimes have also been solved through DNA.

  17. Me again
    December 11, 2013

    Congratulations to the CDPF. I hope that this will encourage more collaboration with foreign law enforcement agencies to help solve crimes committed in DA by foreigners that are just passing through.

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