Ink and roll is now replaced by electronic fingerprinting at Vanderhoof’s RCMP detachment.
The new LiveScan system will allow more short-term volunteers to contribute in Vanderhoof, as criminal record and vulnerable sector checks now require only a week — instead of four months in previous years, said Sgt. Svend Nielsen from Vanderhoof.
“We had comments where people don’t want to [volunteer] anymore because [the check] takes until the season is over,” Nielsen said.
Conducted for all volunteers or employees working with minors, seniors, or the disabled, the vulnerable sector check requires fingerprints of individuals if their last name, birth year, and gender match with Canadian police records.
As a result, those with a common last name may need to wait for months before they are clear, Nielsen added.
Electronic fingerprinting, which allows real-time identification, has been rolling out in RCMP detachments across Canada for the last two years, but the system’s limited number of technicians has delayed installation in Vanderhoof until now, Nielsen explained.
“No more dirty fingers!”
The RCMP assures that all scanned fingerprints for the criminal record and vulnerable sector checks are automatically deleted after the verification process.