Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Records on Fingerprinting

There is no general requirement for people to submit fingerprints to the government. Criminal suspects are usually fingerprinted, but they are the only people who must submit a print.

There are also a variety of voluntary programs through which people submit fingerprints to the government. I believe they are required for passports, for example, and I know they are required on applications for security clearances and for sensitive government jobs. These prints often end up in the FBIs *very* comprehensive database along with those of criminals and criminal suspects.

Local police usually can't just ask the FBI for a person's fingerprints. Instead, they can submit a print to the FBI for a comparison which will reveal if it matches someone already in the database and, if so, whether that person has a criminal record or an arrest history.