THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996 TAG: 9609190377
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: 58 lines
Motor vehicle officials are about to make life more difficult for people who make fake driver's licenses - and easier for state law enforcement officers.
High-tech licenses that resemble credit cards will replace the smaller laminated forms used since 1968, making the liceneses more difficult to forge.
``People have learned how to peel apart (the current license) and type over the date of birth. The integrity of a driver license is immensely important,'' Mitzi Powell, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, said.
The change will also make it easier for law enforcement officers to identify drivers. A bar code on the back eventually will provide computer access to digital photographs of more than 5 million North Carolina drivers. The state DMV currently does not store photos.
As the DMV builds up its collection of digital photos, many law enforcement agencies will use laptop computers, modems and bar-code scanners to allow officers to quickly tap into DMV files from the patrol car, Major George Ake of the state Highway Patrol said.
Other new technology is expected to allow patrol officers to use the bar-code reader to quickly see a driver's record, including outstanding warrants. Officers also could print out citations instead of writing by hand.
Until law enforcement offices have the necessary equipment, the front of the new license, including picture and signature, can be transmitted by fax machine, Wayne Hurder, director of DMV's Driver License Section, said.
Joel Rosch, a policy analyst with the Governor's Commission on Crime, said officers will be able to use DMV photos to put together photographic ``line-ups.'' Instead of police rounding up a half-dozen men to match a suspect's race, age, hair and eye color, they could request DMV computer pictures, he said.
The bold type and numbers on the new cards also may make the job easier for store clerks when taking personal checks. But merchants and credit card companies will not have access to the DMV photos, Powell said.
``I think the General Assembly wanted to be very careful what the public has access to. It's a privacy issue. DMV holds a lot of info and we have to be careful what goes out,'' she said.
The first batch of new licenses will be issued in a Wake County test program later this month. If they are a success, equipment will be installed in 148 DMV offices.
Because the DMV has lengthened the time between renewals, it will be eight years before all drivers have the new licenses. But people who do not want to wait can stand in line and pay $10 for the new one.
``We hate to see longer lines, but here's the kicker. Other states had a 10 to 15 percent increase in customers who want them,'' Hurder said.
About 20 other states, including South Carolina and Virginia, already issue the new license.
Viisage Technology of Acton, Mass., supplies the equipment and charges North Carolina $1.05 for each license, compared to 66.9 cents the state now pays Polaroid. Residents will pay the same, $2.50 for each year the license is valid, or $12.50 for a five-year license. by CNB