LAPD Purchase of Fingerprint Computer Backed

Spurred by successes in two celebrated murder cases, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved in concept the purchase of a fingerprint identification computer that police say could help solve up to 25,000 crimes a year.

On a unanimous vote, the council ordered Police Chief Daryl F. Gates to prepare proposals under which the city would purchase a computerized system, estimated to cost more than $5 million. The council and Mayor Tom Bradley would still have to approve any specific purchase.

The city system, which would begin operating in late 1986 at the earliest, would tie in with a state system that recently helped police identify suspects in the Night Stalker serial killings and in the murders of a young Thousand Oaks couple slain in West Los Angeles.

Publicity about the state computer led Gates and Councilmen Hal Bernson and Zev Yaroslavsky to push for similar equipment, which Yaroslavsky said would bring the LAPD’s criminal identification procedures “out of the horse-and-buggy era and put us in the Jet Age.”

Police Cmdr. William Rathburn, speaking for Gates at the Tuesday council session, said that this year police have fingerprint evidence in 467 unsolved murders but have been unable to come up with suspects. In the last 15 years, about 4,600 murders have remained unsolved despite fingerprint evidence, he said.

The current fingerprint identification system--which requires police employees to hand-check prints by comparing them to the 1.7 million sets on file--is virtually useless, Rathburn indicated. It would take a technician 64 years to complete the check, police officials have said, contrasted with the 45 minutes it takes for the computer to check for a matching print.

“Most officers realize we only take fingerprints for PR purposes,” Rathburn said.

According to police figures, the department at present solves about 50,000 of the 300,000 major crimes that are reported by citizens each year. Those crimes include murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and thefts. Rathburn estimated that the computerized system would help the department solve 50% more major crimes for a total of 75,000 solved.

In approving the concept of the city’s own system, the council tentatively turned down a recommendation by the city’s chief administrative officer that the city share a regional computer with other law enforcement agencies in Southern California.

Shared Computer

Under a state law passed earlier this year, the regional computer would be shared by Los Angeles police, the county Sheriff’s Department and 55 other law enforcement agencies.

Council members instead agreed with Rathburn, who said participation in a regional computer system would allow Los Angeles only limited computer access. Rathburn estimated that the department will conduct at least 100,000 annual fingerprint searches through the computer system, about five times the number he said it would be allowed in a shared system.

The County Board of Supervisors, meanwhile, took the first steps Tuesday toward initiating the regional computer, setting up a seven-member board to plan a shared installation.

To Participate in Plans

Both Gates and Bradley will serve on that board, despite the council vote. At the urging of City Councilman Ernani Bernardi, council members agreed that the city should remain involved in planning for the regional system.

The computer system now used by the state Department of Justice allows agencies to insert fingerprints lifted from crime scenes and scan through fingerprints compiled in prior arrests.

The state system zeroed in on Richard Ramirez as the so-called Night Stalker suspect within three minutes of being provided with a print found at the scene of the last murder. Earlier this month, the system demonstrated its prowess again when it was used in the case of the Thousand Oaks victims, Brian E. Harris, 20, and Michelle Ann Boyd, 19.

The two were abducted in Westwood and driven to a field near Mulholland Drive, where they were shot to death. Harris’ car was discovered later, and a partial print found on the rear-view mirror was matched with a print on file in the state computer. The find led to the arrest of four suspects.