Cops shred prints as dabs go digital
Police have destroyed 140 tonnes of used fingerprint papers that people submitted when they applied for jobs in the civil service, according to the Criminal Records Division (CRD).
A total of 1.7 million pieces of paper bearing fingerprints will be shredded. They have been accumulated over 16 years.
The papers are being disposed of after the records were compiled electronically, said Thawatchai Mekprasertsuk, deputy chief of the Office of the Police Forensic Science.
The papers were stored in 500 square metres of space. Storage space was running out.
People who apply for jobs at state agencies have their fingerprints taken.
The prints are then checked for any criminal records as part of the application process.
Pol Maj Gen Trairong Phewpan, head of the CRD, gave his assurance the digitally stored records would not be abused, leaked or lost as they were being stored as backup files.
An anti-virus system has been installed to ensure database security.
The agency decided to shred the papers instead of incinerating them so as not to pollute the environment while also saving money.
The division appointed a special committee to sort out the used fingerprint papers for disposal. After the sorting out process, a higher authority at the Royal Thai Police must authorise their destruction.
Pol Maj Gen Trairong dismissed claims that officials could be bribed to delete the criminal records of people convicted of a crime.