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Committee hears sheriff’s presentation on child ID program; item tabled
Summary
A sheriff’s department representative described the Safe Child ID program, including digital fingerprinting and annual card production; committee discussion including questions on data retention ended with a motion to table the item.
A representative of the Erie County Sheriff’s Department described the department’s Safe Child ID program and answered council members’ questions about fingerprint storage and outreach during the Buffalo City Committee on Education meeting on Jan. 30, 2020.
The Sheriff’s Department representative said the program, run under the New York State Sheriffs’ Association after the state ended its direct operation, produces about 7,000 child ID cards each year at public events such as the Erie County Fair and the Buffalo Auto Show. "We take a photo, we get some other information, height, weight, date of birth, maybe scars," the representative said, and added that the program can provide a digital fingerprint to law enforcement if needed. The representative said fingerprints are stored digitally and purged automatically when a child turns 18.
Committee members pressed for more detail about disposal and access. Council member Kylie (first name not specified in the transcript) asked how fingerprints are disposed of; the sheriff’s representative said the Sheriffs’ Association’s system purges records based on date of birth and that staff do not manually remove the prints. Councilman Nowakowski asked whether the database has produced recoveries; the representative said that since they have run the program they are not aware of requests being used in a case, describing a possible single short incident involving an autistic child who was found before prints were requested.
The representative also described operational details: the program has four machines (two older units and two newer ones funded through recent grant or funds), and the cost of a machine is roughly $6,000–$10,000. The sheriff’s representative said requests to access a child’s digital prints must go through the Sheriffs’ Association and that digital prints can reportedly be sent within 15–20 minutes if requested.
After the presentation and questions, the committee moved to close discussion and then moved to table the item; the transcript records a motion to close discussion (seconded by Councilman Bowman) and a motion to table (seconded by Councilman Norcoskie). The transcript does not include a roll-call vote or final tally for the tabling motion.
The discussion noted that the Sheriff’s Department provides the program at no charge to schools and that donations to a sheriff reserve fund help support equipment and operations. The representative suggested that organizations or schools seeking the service contact Chief Mitchell Martin (email referenced in the transcript), but the transcript spelling and address are not fully clear.
The item was tabled for later action; no additional materials or timelines were recorded in the transcript.
