Thumbs up for fingerprint levy
Seattle Times Editorial
September 15, 2006
King County voters can sustain crime fighting for a fifth-straight levy since 1986. The Automated Fingerprint Identification System has grown with the challenges of law enforcement and remains worthy of support.
Voters have regularly taxed themselves to improve the capacity and sophistication of the system. AFIS allows for the rapid scanning for prints in a huge and growing database. King County is in turn connected to regional, state and national networks that expand the reach of local police and deputies. The measure on Tuesday's ballot would raise $102 million over six years, with an annual levy of 5.68 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. That is about $23 on a $400,000 home. Past levies paid for 34 Live Scan fingerprint devices in police stations, precincts and jails throughout King County. The latest levy would install five more around the county, purchase technology to capture palm prints, hire more technicians and expand the use of equipment designed for remote use.
Voters rely on a committee of 13 representatives from suburban law-enforcement agencies, Seattle and King County to be the technical and financial stewards of these levies. The public has been a steady partner in making this crime-fighting tool available.
Proposition 1 on the King County ballot, the fingerprint levy, deserves another strong Yes vote.
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