Pinal County deploying device that turns iPhones into I.D. scanners

Posted: Saturday, October 8, 2011 2:45 pm | Updated: 7:47 pm, Sat Oct 8, 2011.

By Garin Groff, Tribune


As long there have been police, there have been suspects who’ve evaded justice with forged identification, fake names or not having any I.D.

But for sheriff’s deputies in Pinal County, now there’s an app for that.

Deputies there will be the first in nation to receive a new device that attaches to an iPhone, with near-instant capabilities to identify people by scanning their irises, face or fingerprints. Deputies can scan suspects when they make contact, and results come back within seconds.

Sheriff Paul Babeu called the technology a game-changer for law enforcement.

“Information is only as good as the information they give you or the documents they give you,â€