If chargers against me are dropped, will my copies of my fingerprints be destroyed?
Question Details:
I was going to be charged with "Minor in Possession of Alcohol" and "Fleeing the Scene of an Accident". I went to traffic court for fleeing the scene and applied for diversion which I was granted. And I went to a pre-trial hearing for the possession of alcohol where my court appointed attorney had me plea not guilty; a policeman in the courtroom took my fingerprints. Before the trial, my attorney talked to the prosecutor and had her drop the possession charge. Will this mean my fingerprints will be destroyed? Is there a way to check or ask that it be done?
Most states do not destroy fingerprint records. The reason that these states do not destroy the records is becasue the police use fingerprints to track people down and identify them. Indeed, if you are in the database and a crime is committed, your fingerprints are in the sytem to identify you in the event that your prints match those found at the scene. On the other hand, if there is a crime and the prints at the scene are run through the database and your prints do not match, there is no basis for the state to charge you with the crime. You should be happy that you got the charges dropped and that you wont have a record.
