Alabama Prisons To Scan Fingerprints Of Visitors

State prison officials say visitors to Alabama prisons will have their fingerprints scanned for security reasons.

The the policy begins this weekend.

Prison officials say the new system will improve security by making sure visitors are who they claim to be, and that the new system will also speed up the process of checking in.

Some are expressing concerns about the new system.

State Sen. Cam Ward, who chairs a joint legislative committee that oversees prisons, said he's troubled by the idea of fingerprinting people who have not broken laws.

Kim Thomas, commissioner of the Department of Corrections, says the new system is needed, partly because there are flaws in using driver licenses to identify visitors.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.