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Police throughout Luzerne County will soon have access to a county-owned automated fingerprint identification system that provides a more current account of an offender&rsquo;s criminal history than ink fingerprinting, county District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said during her recent annual presentation.
				Salavantis provided the update, required by the county&rsquo;s home rule charter, during last week&rsquo;s county council meeting. It was overshadowed by a council majority&rsquo;s vote later in the session to vacate her seat because Salavantis is running for county judge. The legality of that vacancy declaration may be challenged in court.
				In her annual report, Salavantis said the automatic fingerprint identification system, known as AFIS, will be purchased with part of a $50,000 state Economic Development and Community Development Initiatives grant sponsored by state Sen. John Yudichak, I-Swoyersville.
				The DA&rsquo;s office is in the process of ordering the electronic fingerprint machine and will set it up in space accessible to any local law enforcement officers, Salavantis said.
				It will allow municipal police and county detectives to &ldquo;quickly process criminal defendants, ascertain their true identities and ensure that violent individuals are not released due to misidentification of misinformation,&rdquo; said her budget amendment proposal about the grant. Accessing AFIS from a centralized county location also will save police &ldquo;valuable time and resources,&rdquo; it said.
				Interview rooms equipped with audio/video recording capabilities also will be installed in the office using the grant funding, she said. These interview rooms will be available to local police, she said.
				Another grant from the International Association of Chiefs of Police will fund training for some municipal police to become &ldquo;Drug Recognition Experts,&rdquo; or DREs, extensively schooled on the signs of people under the influence of an array of substances, Salavantis said.
				Municipal departments recommended 16 police officers to complete the &ldquo;very difficult&rdquo; two-week training course that she believes will be held next month, she said.
				If all 16 pass, the county will have the highest number of DRE officers in the state, Salavantis told council.
				Salavantis covered several other topics in her annual address, including:
				&#8226; Coronavirus pandemic
				COVID-19 &ldquo;changed the landscape of the criminal justice system&rdquo; last year, with restrictions on gatherings and physical contact limiting court proceedings, the ability for police to safely enter homes and the actual reporting of crimes, she said.
				The office opened 3,177 new cases last year, which is a &ldquo;major decrease&rdquo; from prior years, she said. There were 40 jury or bench trials held in 2020, she said.
				&#8226; Juvenile cases
				The number of cases last year &mdash; 264 &mdash; also was a &ldquo;drastic decrease,&rdquo; which she attributes to more juveniles staying home.
				However, juvenile cases filed directly to adult court &mdash; there were 11 last year &mdash; continue to rise due to offenders with extensive criminal histories committing serious crimes, she said. These cases are more expensive because they require additional expert testimony.
				&#8226; Drugs
				Drug overdose deaths had decreased from approximately 172 in 2018 to 128 in 2019, but they jumped back up to 179 in 2020, county records show.
				Salavantis had helped create the Coalition to STOP Overdoses and distributed the opioid overdose antidote Narcan, which she believes contributed to the 2019 decline in overdose deaths. She blames last year&rsquo;s death increase largely on pandemic-related financial stress, mental health issues and barriers accessing support groups.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very upsetting to me,&rdquo; she said of the rise in deaths.
				Methamphetamines have become more popular, but heroin mixed with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl remains a drug of choice and significant overdose cause, she said.
				In 2020, the county&rsquo;s Drug Task Force made 126 arrests and seized $311,552 in drug funds and 34 weapons, she said.
				The county&rsquo;s Gun Violence Reduction Task Force, established with a $250,000 competitive grant, was involved in the weapon seizures and also made 82 arrests following up on flagged Pennsylvania Instant Check System gun purchase requests, she said.
				&#8226; Budget
				The office spent $4.6 million last year, or $538,000 less than budgeted, Salavantis said.
				In her more than nine years as district attorney, Salavantis said she collectively returned over a million dollars.
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud of that,&rdquo; she told council.
				Her address was also a parting speech because Salavantis has said she plans to voluntarily resign on or around March 25 after the petition challenge and withdrawal period has expired for candidates appearing on the May 18 primary election ballot.
				A council majority voted to declare the seat vacant, saying that action is required under the home rule charter. Others say council has no authority to vacate an office holder from an elected seat without a court order.
				Salavantis has said council&rsquo;s action forces her into a court challenge, but none had been filed as of Monday.
				Closing her annual address, Salavantis thanked her prosecutors, detectives and support staff.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not me as DA that makes this office what it is &mdash; a tremendous office that fights every day for our community. It&rsquo;s our team,&rdquo; she told council.

Automated fingerprint ID system coming to Luzerne County