The NYPD just got a fancy new gizmo that will take all that waiting and anxiety out of getting your fingerprints taken. Used mainly by the crime scene unit and warrant division, the new mobile device takes fingerprints right at the scene of the crime, cutting down time to find names and outstanding warrants. Of course, they ask permission before taking any prints. They wouldn't want to be rude or anything.

Cops tested out a few of the devices about three years ago, but recently put in orders for a few dozen more. Deputy Inspector Kim Royster said, "We're going to assess the technology and see whether or not we're going to add more." Cops say the devices not only speed up the fingerprint search, but cut down on suspects trying to give the cops the runaround by throwing out different aliases. But isn't the device just one more way the NYPD can keep your entire life on file?

Chris Dunn of the NYCLU said, "We hope these machines will promote crime-scene identification and reduce mistaken-identity arrests, but I worry they will make it far too easy for the police to take and keep fingerprints and photos of law-abiding people." However, the NYPD insists that they're planning nothing of the sort. Royster said, "If there's no hit, the fingerprint is erased. "It is not kept on file." And with that, there is nothing else to worry about.