SAD 63 board OKs iris scans for child identification database

EDDINGTON – Eighth-grader Theresa Copeland sat in front of a digital camera Monday night helping Chief Deputy Troy Morton of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department demonstrate to the SAD 63 board how easy it is to scan a person’s iris.

“Please look into the mirror,” the computer instructed Copeland. “Please open your eyes wider,” it said.

The computer and associated software recorded her iris, the colored part of the eye unique to each individual, and also took a digital photo of what she looks like today for the Children’s Identification and Location Database project.

“This is just like a web cam picture,” Morton told the board before they unanimously endorsed implementing the CHILD project. “D.A.R.E. funding has gone away. What a great way to put a police officer back into the school.”

Morton said 12 to 15 pupils can have their irises recorded per hour, which means it could take awhile to process the entire district.

The second grade at Eddington Elementary School is where the sheriff’s department will begin the free identification project at a date to be determined.

The department is the first law enforcement agency to use iris scans in Maine, and SAD 63 is the first school system in the state to endorse the program.

“This is something I think is crucial for the town,” Morton said.

In addition to the digital images, the CHILD program also records the name, gender, height, weight, eye color and parental contacts for the individual, which are sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children database where they are kept until the individual turns 18.

Participation in the CHILD program is completely voluntary, Morton stressed.

“If a parent doesn’t want to have this done, they don’t have to,” he said. “Nobody has to do this. It’s just another safety measure that parents can do.”

Fingerprints of children have been the main identifying tool many agencies use, but fingerprints are often unreliable because there is no database and many parents have a hard time finding them during emergencies, Morton said.

To augment the fingerprinting program, the Sheriff’s Department, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, bought an iris scanner several months ago.

Since purchasing the device, the department has recorded the irises of 500 Maine children.

An iris scan, which captures more than 250 characteristics, is far more effective than fingerprints that are based on 70 to 75 characteristics.

The computer also instantly verifies if the information is captured, he said.

“We can actually go out into the field with a portable scanner, [and] if that person is in the national center’s system it brings up their information immediately.

“As a citizen and as the chief deputy, I think this is a great tool for the community,” he said later.

During the meeting, the board also:

. Discussed at length Brewer School Department’s newly enacted admission policy and the associated admissions application for Brewer High School.

. Endorsed seven new policies.