Once implemented, the Livescan system -- which records fingerprints or palm prints digitally -- will capture, store and archive both finger and palm prints of all suspected criminals who have been arrested or held by law enforcement agencies in Snohomish County, Bales said. The system will also be used to collect fingerprints in no-criminal situations such as when residents must obtain firearms licenses or licenses for various occupations, he said.

"Cross Match's ID-2500 is designed for the very highest end of forensic-analysis use in the law enforcement market," said James Ziglar, CEO of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based Cross Match. "This product is designed to go beyond fingerprints to capture full palm images to increase the amount of data that's used to compare latent prints to stored prints and for forensics analysts to use for visual comparison."

Cross Match announced that its technology had been chosen by Snohomish officials last week.

Using Cross Match's ID-2500 full-hand scanner system, images can be captured and transmitted to a central location and/or integrated with an automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) to help law enforcement agencies improve their ID processing, Ziglar said.

The sheriff's department had known that it needed to update the technology used for latent fingerprint imaging for some time, Bales said. Once in place, Cross Match's ID-2500 scanner will be used to electronically link criminal information between the sheriff's office and the Washington State Patrol. It also allows agencies to search the state database in real time to more quickly identify subjects, according to the statement.