All local law enforcement agencies in Cochise County are now connected via a national biometric identification network.
County officials say they're the first in the U.S. to do so.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office says the Inmate Recognition and Identification System is not surveillance technology. Instead, authorities say it uses an iris scan to positively identify people.
Now, the sheriff’s office is connected with police agencies in Sierra Vista, Bisbee, Tombstone and Huachuca City via the network.
Officials say each agency owns the biometric data it collects, and the information won’t be sold.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts with the company that makes the iris recognition system.
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