other convenient places, for easy retrieval. Unfortunately, during the interim, other officers in the same or another jurisdiction may have contact with the individual without even realizing that the individual has outstanding wants or warrants. Another department may have even jailed and released the individual because the officer either did not enter the individual into NCIC or did not enter the record in a timely manner.

Although NCIC mandates agencies to enter wanted records in a timely manner, some agencies do not enter or complete all wanted person entries. Although it remains true that every entry requires maintenance and action to remove it upon capture of the suspect, not promptly or thoroughly completing entries can result in costly mistakes.

To help ensure officer safety, managers should encourage their officers to“pack the record” when entering wanted persons in NCIC. By entering all available nonmandatory data, particularly vehicle information, officers can help make the NCIC record even more useful in locating wanted persons.

An IAFIS Success Story

In Massachusetts, the police charged an 18- I year-old male with trespassing, underage drinking, and drinking in public. Based on these offenses, his release was imminent. However, using the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), law enforcement officers learned of wanted charges for a drug-related murder of another 18-year-old in Greenville, South Carolina. This case shows how IAFIS can raise the capacity of the police to identify wanted persons to the next generation of crime fighting.6

Entering Wanted Person Records

NCIC records for wanted persons must include the FBI-assigned originating agency identifier; the N subject’s name, sex, race, height, weight, hair color, offense, and warrant date; and the agency case number. In addition, agencies must enter at least one numeric identifier with the record, such as the subject’s date of birth, FBI number, vehicle operator license number, or social security number. Based on this information alone, investigators generally can make a tentative identification of an individual, although fingerprint comparison remains more reliable and can provide the basis for a more conclusive result.

Checking Arrested Persons

Similar to the example of the firearm purchaser at the beginning of this article, some wanted persons serve time in jail for a minor offense and get released without the discovery of their wanted status in another jurisdiction for a more serious crime. In most cases, a simple name search through the FBI’s NCIC Wanted Person File will determine whether an individual is wanted.4 Because criminals often use altered or false identification, fingerprints remain the best means to accurately identify subjects and determine whether they are wanted.

NCIC’s “hit” confirmation procedures ensure rapid verification of an individual’s wanted status. Within 10 minutes of the inquiry, the agency that entered the wanted person record must confirm to an inquiring agency if the subject is still wanted. Wanted person records remain in NCIC until the entering agency removes them.

To maximize the capability for conclusive identification, numerous states are working to implement the FBI IAFIS initiative that will allow rapid