Mahoning and Trumbull Courthouses Set to Get New Fingerprint Scanners

Mahoning, Trumbull Courts to Get New Fingerprint Scanners from State Grant Program

Courthouses in Mahoning and Trumbull counties will receive new fingerprint scanners under a state grant program aimed at “strengthening criminal records systems” in the Valley.

The state criminal records repository will pay for 77 new devices that courts across Ohio will use to fingerprint defendants for uploading to a database, according to a news release from the Attorney General’s Office.

“Fingerprints are a critical piece of the puzzle in verifying identity and criminal background checks,” said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. “These grant funds are being invested in the courts to further modernize the data storage system by creating a more robust fingerprinting process.”

The new devices, called LiveScan devices, will be delivered to courthouses in 42 counties, including Mahoning and Trumbull counties. They will be used to “fill gaps in the defendant fingerprinting system” and improve record keeping in the state’s computerized criminal history database (CCH).

Youngstown Municipal Court in Mahoning County will receive two of these new LiveScan devices. Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, Trumbull County Juvenile Court and Warren Municipal Court will each receive one.

The devices, which cost $898,450, were purchased through a National Criminal History Improvement Program grant administered by the Attorney General’s Office. The use of the funds is part of a process the Attorney General hopes will “modernize numerous aspects of the criminal history recording and reporting processes in this state.”