A portable fingerprint reader recently acquired by the Tamaqua Police Department will help officers identify people almost immediately.

“It is a device that we can carry with us on the streets,” Police Chief Michael Hobbs said.

The device scans fingerprints and sends them to a Pennsylvania State Police identification system.

“So if we need to identify anybody, all we do is just get their fingerprint. Right away, it will identify who they are,” Hobbs said during a recent borough council meeting.

In the past, officers had to transport unidentified people to a state police barracks for fingerprinting and identification.

“It will do it right away,” Hobbs said of the new device.

Resident Tom Williams asked if police would use the fingerprint reader on anyone they come in contact with.

“We have our rules,” Hobbs said. “We just can’t ask for prints from anybody. We actually have to get approval for them.”

One instance where the device could be used, he said, would be for an unconscious individual unable to provide their name to officers.

“Or if they give us a false name or anything like that — or if we are not sure of who they are,” Hobbs added.

Hobbs said the device is from the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, which administers the Mobile ID program and provides the readers without cost to police departments.

According to the association, transmissions from the devices are sent on a secure server to the state police’s Multimodal Biometric Identification System.

During the meeting, council adopted a resolution amending the department’s standard operating procedures to include a Mobile Fingerprint ID policy.