FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         AAG
MONDAY, MAY 15, 1995                               (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
            PRISONER BOOKINGS LEAPS FORWARD UNDER JABS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice will showcase
on Thursday, May 18, a revolutionary system for booking
prisoners--fingerprinting, photographing and documenting
arrestees--at a Department of Commerce conference illustrating
how the federal government uses technology to better serve the
American public.  
     Dubbed JABS for Joint Automated Booking Station, the system
utilizes new computer technologies to revamp a process that
hasn't undergone significant change for more than 50 years.  
     The booking system technology will be demonstrated at a
meeting of the Infrastructure Task Force in the Department of
Commerce Auditorium.  It will be one of several federal projects
demonstrating how the Administration is adopting technology under
Vice President Gore's National Performance Review program.
     After the exhibit, JABS will be placed in a laboratory
setting in south Florida in June, then field tested in July to
determine how well the system works under actual operating
conditions.  It should be operational in the summer, the
Department said.
     Initially, JABS will be used in the Miami area by the Bureau
of Prisons, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and
Naturalization Service, the United States Marshals Service and
FBI.  Other federal, state and local governments in south Florida
will be invited to participate this fall. 
     It's anticipated that JABS will reduce law enforcement costs
by decreasing the booking time of an arrestee, eliminating
redundant data collection and augmenting cooperation and the
sharing of information among law enforcement agencies.
     JABS was developed under a December 6, 1993, letter by the
Attorney General.
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