More than 2,600 have used police child ID program

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jim McGuire

In little more than a year, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department has fingerprinted and issued identification to more than 2,600 children as part of the state Safe Child Identification Program.

The program was started by the state but then turned over to the counties to administer — and, local officials said, pay for.

Sheriff Thomas J. Lorey said donors are making it possible to provide the service without cost to the taxpayers.

The generosity of individuals and organizations was highlighted Wednesday when at the close of the department’s memorial service for its drug-sniffing German shepherd, Blitz, representatives of the Johnstown Eagles Club stepped forward with a $1,000 check made out to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Association.

The association handles donations for the identification program, the department’s K-9 program and other department needs.

Eagles President Stan Banovic and Inside Guard Robert Bishop presented the check to Sheriff Lorey and a delegation from the association in attendance for the memorial service.

Deputy Marc Hallenbeck handles the identification program. Using an infrared scanner, Henpeck fingerprints children ages 18 months to 18 years. When an identified individual turns 18, the records are automatically erased.

Parents seek the service after learning about it from schools and other agencies.

Hallenbeck recently processed children at the YMCA day care program. In the event a child goes missing, the information would immediately be used for an Amber Alert.