A NEW fingerprint scheme will help Preston police identify offenders in just an hour.

Livescan is an automatic finger print machine which after scanning prints can tell officers within an hour who the person is.

After successfully being pioneered in Blackpool, Preston Police have opted to bring the new £60,000 machine to the town.

Inspector Andrew Baxter believes it will help the officers in all areas.

He said: "It will benefit us in many ways. Obviously, the main advantage will be the speed in which it can detect criminals."

At the moment, officers in Preston, and in most parts in the country, have to take the fingerprints, send them to Scotland Yard and wait two days for the results.

The new system will detect the fingerprints on a computer before being sent immediately by satellite to Seattle, Washington.

The system will put a stop to people who refuse to give their details, help officers in other districts catch criminals and find out if offenders have given false information.

Insp Baxter added: "If we can receive information within an hour then it will cut down on the time officers spend trying to get information out of people who have been arrested.

"Hopefully this will lead to more officers being back on the streets and increasing the number of arrests we make."

Livescan is set to arrive in Preston in the next few days.

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