Virginia State Police - CJIS LiveScan FAQ

Live Scan Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Live Scan?

How can our agency buy a Live Scan and transmit the prints to VSP?

What are some considerations in buying a Live Scan system?

Which Live Scan vendors are certified in Virginia?

Which Live Scan systems are certified in Virginia?

How can we get Live Scan supplies?

Records or Jail Management Interface Questions (RMS/JMS)?

How do I contact Virginia State Police about Live Scan?

What is Live Scan?

Live Scan is an integrated booking system that electronically captures, prints and transmits fingerprints and data. Live Scan systems have several advantages over the traditional ink method:

Prints can be electronically transmitted to a central site for identification
Applicant identification can be made in hours, not weeks or months
Arrestees can be positively identified while in custody
An individual must only be fingerprinted once for multiple copies of a fingerprint card (State, FBI and local) and other forms to be produced automatically
Individual fingers can be rescanned quickly to produce an acceptable level of quality, eliminating the time required to re-roll entire sets of fingerprints until acceptable quality is achieved

How can our agency buy a Live Scan and transmit the prints to VSP?

All agencies considering Live Scan transmission to VSP must follow these instructions for purchasing equipment.

For pricing information, please click here. If not requesting prices, please send an e-mail to VSP. For fastest turnaround, please leave the code in the subject line.

What are some considerations in buying a Live Scan system?

Cost Costs listed here are not official quotes and are subject to change at any time - they are just given as 'ballpark' estimates.
- Live Scan: Some law enforcement agencies are eligible to receive reimbursement from the State Compensation Board; these agencies include some Sheriff's Offices and jail facilities. Please contact the Compensation Board to be sure your agency is eligible: http://www.scb.state.va.us.
- Network: If your agency does not have VCIN (available to law enforcement agencies only), a Nortel VPN Contivity switch is required and costs approximately $990 plus approximately $250 for installation (agency may choose to self-install). If the agency is not going to use their own non-dialup internet connection, a T1 card is needed and costs approximately $725. Support costs range from $35 - $55/month depending on the level of support. See more technical information in the " Network Requirements" document.
- VCIN: (law enforcement agencies only) The cost for VCIN is $300 per license with a price break starting at 5 licenses; basic support is $40/year.
Maintenance The system must be maintained regularly to ensure optimum performance. This includes contracting with the vendor for maintenance coverage as well as stocking the correct supplies for cleaning and maintaining the equipment (see How can we get Live Scan supplies? section below).
Personnel Personnel must be trained to use the Live Scan, and the agency must have a minimum of one (but preferably two or more) system administrators who can assist the vendor and State Police with any troubleshooting that is required.
Space You will need enough space to accommodate a standard PC and 17" monitor (or a notebook PC), as well as the device used to capture fingerprint images. At this time, a printer is also required. This can either be a Live Scan (approximately 7" x 16" x 12") or a standard-size flatbed scanner (if a card scan system is used), or both. In some environments, it is preferable to purchase a console that holds the PC, monitor and Live Scan.

Which Live Scan vendors are certified in Virginia?

Live Scan systems are certified in Virginia by a team at State Police. The Live Scan must be FBI Appendix-F certified and pass tests at the Testing Lab at State Police for fingerprint quality, data quality, transmission completion and user friendliness. Eligible systems must complete tests in all types of Virginia Live Scan Transactions (including criminal, several versions of applicant, identification, sex offender and corrections) with no errors for 30 days in order to be certified in Virginia. Certification may be revoked should a system fail to perform in the tested manner and/or if the vendor fails to correct a significant problem within a reasonable amount of time.

Systems currently certified in Virginia

If a system is not listed below, it is not certified in Virginia. This official list is updated as systems become certified (or are no longer certified). Please check this list immediately before your agency procures a live scan system.

Vendor/Website	System	Notes
ID Networks	IDS	Live Scan system for criminal justice, corrections and civilian applicant agencies - PC & software (choice of fingerprint scanning device and camera - see below) Note: all components of the system will be ordered from* and installed by ID Networks. Please click here to request a price list. *If a CrossMatch deck is chosen, the deck will be ordered/purchased from CrossMatch.
CrossMatch	CrossMatch	Live Scan system for civilian APPLICANT or corrections agencies only - PC, software & CrossMatch deck below
CrossMatch	ID-500 Fingerprint Scanner (with silicone pad only)	fingerprint scanning device only (for use with IDS)
Identix	TP3000 and TP3100 Fingerprint Scanner	fingerprint scanning device only (for use with IDS)
Smiths-Heimann	LS1/LITE-X and Lite Palm	fingerprint scanning device only (for use with IDS)
Lexmark	T630, T630d, T630n, T630dn, T640	Printer
Sony	EVI series camera	camera (for use with IDS) Note that the EVI series requires a video capture card for use with IDS - the camera and capture card are available from ID Networks and may be self-installed or vendor-installed. If purchased from ID Networks with a new Live Scan system, the camera and video card will be installed at the time IDS is installed.
Canon	Powershot series camera	camera (for use with IDS) The camera may be purchased from any vendor and self-installed or may be purchased from ID Networks and either self-installed or vendor-installed. If purchased with a new Live Scan system or prior to IDS installation, the camera will be installed at the time IDS is installed.

How can we get Live Scan supplies?

Vendor	Item	Notes
CrossMatch	Silicone pads	See CrossMatch's website
	Cleaner	70-91% Isopropyl Alcohol, preferably 91% for quick evaporation is the recommended silicone pad cleaner. Can order from CrossMatch - see CrossMatch's website
	Wipes	Kimberly-Clark KimWipes EX-L - Product Code 34120 or 34155 (larger case size) Can order from CrossMatch - see CrossMatch's website http://www.kcprofessional.com/main.asp?page=PRODUCT&PRDCODE=34120&PRDBUNDLE=21
	Sticky Tape	One can use packing tape instead of alcohol + wipes to clean the silicone pads (very effective) or purchase "cleaner pads" from CrossMatch - see CrossMatch's website
Identix	Coated Platen	Contact Identix at 800-932-0889 to order roll and plain platens. Platens that can be returned will result in a cost savings for a "recoated" platen. One spare platen for each roll and each plain platen should be kept on hand at all times.
	Cleaner	Windex with Ammonia-D is the only approved platen cleaner.
	Wipes	Low-lint cloths like Webril Handi-Pads (recommended) are available at local janitorial or art supply stores.
Lexmark	Toner Cartridge	High-yield "prebate" cartridges have the lowest cost-per-page. Use only Lexmark Brand cartridges - the Lexmark product/part number is on the cartridge in the printer (or use the printer model on the front of the printer) and can be ordered from a local office supply store. An extra toner should be kept on hand at all times. Remanufactured toner cartridges are not be used.
Visionics	PreScan pad	use to enhance print quality on Visionics' glass prism http://www.identicatorinc.com/pindex.html - Choose Live-Scan accessories, then PreScan PS-30 pad. http://shop.optemize.com/shop/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RedWop&Product_Code=IDNT-PS-30
	Cleaner	Glass Plus is the only approved prism cleaner.
	Wipes	Kimberly-Clark EconoMizer Wipers - Product Code 05800 or 05812 - can be ordered from a local janitorial supply store. 5800: http://www.kcprofessional.com/main.asp?page=PRODUCT&PRDCODE=05800&PRDBUNDLE=97 5812: http://www.kcprofessional.com/main.asp?page=PRODUCT&PRDCODE=05812&PRDBUNDLE=97
All	Cards	See the VSP Live Scan User Policies and Procedures Manual or find the order forms here.

Records or Jail Management Interface Questions (RMS/JMS)?

Records and Jail Management Systems can be interfaced to Live Scan. The agency would be responsible for contracting with their RMS/JMS and Live Scan vendors to accomplish this task in order to reduce data entry and time required to book an arrestee/inmate. Testing must be done prior to putting an RMS/JMS interface into production in coordination with the Virginia State Police. Please contact VSP for the most recent interface specification document

How do I contact Virginia State Police about Live Scan?

For pricing information, please click here. If not requesting prices, please send an e-mail to Virginia State Police. For fastest turnaround, please leave the code in the subject line.