HOULTON, Maine — Just prior to the start of school, Jane Marcello of Houlton recalled her father taking her to the police department to have her fingerprints taken.
It was back in the 1960’s, she recalled, and she remembered her father telling her that fingerprints could help find her if she were ever kidnapped.
“That was so long ago and the technology is so advanced now,” said Marcello, who brought her children to the Aid for Kids Educational Fair at the Millar Civic Center on Saturday. “I heard that there would be iris scanning here and I decided to take my grandchildren to have it done.”
Conducted by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, the iris scanning booth was one of the most popular at the fair, which attracted a significant crowd on Saturday. Aid For Kids is a non-profit organization that works to improve life for children and families worldwide, according to its website.
Lt. Frank Shepard and Capt. Tim Richardson of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office were busy manning the booth at the fair.
“We have had a lot of people visit us today,” said Shepard. “Last year, we scanned 276 children and we will probably get the same number or more this year.”
The iris is the colored ring of muscle that opens and shuts the pupil of the eye like a camera shutter and each individual’s iris is unique. The process helps identify individuals and can help in locating missing children or vulnerable adults. It is ten times more accurate than fingerprinting. Even identical twins have different iris patterns. The scan is performed when the individual looks into the computer device and takes about 15 seconds to complete.The technology can identify a child within seconds.
Shepard said that once the iris is scanned, a photograph and pertinent information about the individual are entered into a computer and stored in a national database.
“The information is only used in the database,” he said. “It is only for this project and it is not a law enforcement database.”
Each child received a card with the individual’s picture and information on it after the iris scanning.
“It is something that we do just for them,” said Shepard. “The kids seem to like it.”
Amy LeClaire of Caribou was visiting relatives in Houlton on Saturday and heard about the fair. She brought her two step-children to be scanned.
“I think this is a great idea,” she said. “I am glad that I heard about this. I am interested in anything that protects children or would help if they were ever lost.”
Richardson said he was pleased that there was such a good response to their efforts on Saturday.
“This really is a great tool to have,” he said. “It is much better than the fingerprinting we used to do in the past.”
