CENTENNIAL — Fingerprinting a suspect is so last year.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson unveiled new technology today that will allow officials to scan an arrestee's iris and within seconds get all the pertinent information about the person.

"This is very unique opportunity, cutting edge," Robinson said at a press conference. "We'll take this into our jail to enhance our ability to identify inmates when they come in and when they are released."

The biometric technology is being provided by a $10,000 grant from the National Sheriffs' Association. Arapahoe County is the first law enforcement agency in Colorado to receive the new iris scanner.

The iris scanners are 10 times more accurate than fingerprinting,said Patricia Lawson, senior development officer for B12 Technologies, which developed the scanners.

A person's iris, which is basically the colored part of the eye,develops in the womb and through the first year of life. After that, it doesn't change and can't be altered, unlike fingerprints, officials said.

It is also more accurate than retina scanning because the retina can get diseased and change over time.

The procedure is simple. Someone looks into a scanner, which takes a picture of that person's iris and within seconds information about them appears on a laptop.

The technology is being used in 40 states throughout the country,said Peter Flynn, a former sheriff in Massachusetts and co-founder of The Children's Identification and Location Database (CHILD) Project.  The project was created to secure a national database through the use of Iris Recognition Biometric Technology.

Robinson said he plans to use the scanners on all incoming and outgoing county inmates and sex offenders and offer it voluntarily to children whose parents want them to help identify the tykes should they get lost.

The elderly could also get scanned so if they go missing, their information will be readily assessable in helping identify them.

The sheriff's departments plans to hold fairs and other events to offer them to children and the elderly.