DELAWARE STATE POLICE STATE BUREAU OF IDENTIFICATION
Captain Rodney Layfield
In 2008, Captain Galen M. Purcell served as the Director of the State Bureau of Identification (SBI). SBI provides the state with a central repository for the collection and accurate organization of criminal arrest records, crime reports, and missing person reports. The director, along with four sex offender agents, seven troopers, and a civilian staff of fifty-three people work in the following separate but interrelated sections; Fingerprint Identification Section, Criminal History Section, Quality Control Section, Detective Licensing Section, Firearms Section, SBI North and the Sex Offender Section.
Mr. Russell McNatt supervises the Fingerprint Section, which is responsible for maintaining fingerprint records on people who have been criminally arrested and for people who are applicants for various types of employment requiring criminal history checks. In 2008, the section processed over 77,000 print cards. The section continued to process critical latent examinations revealing the identity of suspects who have committed many serious crimes leading to their arrest and conviction. Other police agencies frequently call upon this section to process evidence related to criminal matters. The AFIS, a central system of fingerprint storage for comparison and identification purposes, is critical to the law enforcement community in Delaware.
Ms. Teresa Jones is the supervisor of the Criminal History Section. This section is responsible for fingerprinting citizens and completing criminal history background checks for employment and/or other purposes. In 2008, the section processed over 51,000 requests for criminal histories. Additional duties include processing pardons and court ordered expungements. In October, 2008 a revision to Delaware’s expungement law came into effect. The Criminal History Section is now the designated starting point for all expungement requests. Section personnel review the expungement requests and determine if the expungement can be completed at SBI or if it must be referred to the appropriate court for further consideration.
Sergeant Thomas F. Carver supervises the Sex Offender Registry (SOR). The SOR is responsible for registering and tracking sex offenders as required by the Delaware Sex Offender Registry Law (Megan’s Law). In 2008, there were over 3,600 registered sex offenders in Delaware. The SOR has four detectives assigned to the unit to conduct criminal investigations of offenders who fail to follow Delaware’s Megan’s Law requirements. The unit made 146 arrests for registry violations in 2008. The Sex Offender Registry saw the addition of four agents during 2008. These were newly created positions consisting of recently retired police officers who conduct statewide notifications for all offenders residing in State Police jurisdiction. The unit members work closely with local and federal law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with Delaware’s sex offender laws. In 2008, Delaware began enforcement of newly adopted requirements as per the federal Adam Walsh Law. The new law requires sex offenders to appear in person at SBI for verification purposes. Prior to 2008 this process was completed via letter through the US Postal Service.
The Firearms Transaction Approval Program (FTAP) falls under Sergeant Benjamin Nefosky. This function was established as a result of the Brady Law, which became effective on February 28, 1994. FTAP consists of four criminal history employees who respond to dealer inquiries for state background checks, which yield an approval or denial for the purchase of a weapon. In 2008, there were 12,107 transactions processed, resulting in 577 denials of firearms purchases.
Ms. Renee Rigby supervises the Quality Control Section. This section was responsible for the quality assurance reviews of over 100,000 crime reports in 2008. The section reviews reports submitted by police agencies throughout the state ensuring proper coding for reporting purposes to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Once this section has completed their review, incidents are then officially counted as a criminal occurrence for statistical and crime tracking purposes. The Detective Licensing Section is supervised by Lt. Sean Moriarty and is comprised of two civilian employees who are responsible for the licensing and regulation of the following industries; private security agencies and their employees, private investigative agencies and their employees, security systems and protective services agencies and their employees, non-state constables, and bail enforcement agents. During 2008, this section also became responsible for the oversight of Delaware’s new pawn broker law regulating pawn brokers, scrap metal processors and junk dealers. Detective Licensing serves as the central repository for oversight, with detectives from criminal investigative troops in each of the three counties conducting on site regulatory visits and inspections.
Ms. Sandra Warden supervises SBI North which consists of four civilian employees providing fingerprinting services to customers desiring criminal history checks, processing of security personnel, and registering change of address and verification for sex offenders in New Castle County. SBI North is located off of the lobby of Troop 2 in Glasgow. There were 15,506 customers fingerprinted in 2008.
- Information obtained from 2008 DSP Annual Report -
