§ 15A-502. Photographs and fingerprints.
§ 15A‑502. Photographsand fingerprints.
(a) A person chargedwith the commission of a felony or a misdemeanor may be photographed and hisfingerprints may be taken for law‑enforcement records only when he hasbeen:
(1) Arrested orcommitted to a detention facility, or
(2) Committed toimprisonment upon conviction of a crime, or
(3) Convicted of afelony.
(a1) It shall be the dutyof the arresting law‑enforcement agency to cause a person charged withthe commission of a felony to be fingerprinted and to forward thosefingerprints to the State Bureau of Investigation.
(a2) If the person cannotbe identified by a valid form of identification, it shall be the duty of thearresting law‑enforcement agency to cause a person charged with thecommission of:
(1) Any offenseinvolving impaired driving, as defined in G.S. 20‑4.01(24a), or
(2) Driving whilelicense revoked if the revocation is for an Impaired Driving License Revocationas defined in G.S. 20‑28.2
to be fingerprinted andphotographed.
(b) This section doesnot authorize the taking of photographs or fingerprints when the offensecharged is a Class 2 or 3 misdemeanor under Chapter 20 of the General Statutes,"Motor Vehicles." Notwithstanding the prohibition in this subsection,a photograph may be taken of a person who operates a motor vehicle on a streetor highway if:
(1) The person is citedby a law enforcement officer for a motor vehicle moving violation, and
(2) The person does notproduce a valid drivers license upon the request of a law enforcement officer,and
(3) The law enforcementofficer has a reasonable suspicion concerning the true identity of the person.
As used in this subsection, thephrase "motor vehicle moving violation" does not include the offenseslisted in the third paragraph of G.S. 20‑16(c) for which no points areassessed, nor does it include equipment violations specified in Part 9 ofArticle 3 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes.
(b1) Any photographauthorized by subsection (b) of this section and taken by a law enforcementofficer or agency:
(1) Shall only be takenof the operator of the motor vehicle, and only from the neck up.
(2) Shall be taken ateither the location where the citation is issued, or at the jail if an arrestis made.
(3) Shall be retained bythe law enforcement officer or agency until the final disposition of the case.
(4) Shall not be usedfor any purpose other than to confirm the identity of the alleged offender.
(5) Shall be destroyedby the law enforcement officer or agency upon a final disposition of the charge.
(c) This section doesnot authorize the taking of photographs or fingerprints of a juvenile allegedto be delinquent except under Article 21 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes.
(d) This section doesnot prevent the taking of photographs, moving pictures, video or soundrecordings, fingerprints, or the like to show a condition of intoxication orfor other evidentiary use.
(e) Fingerprints orphotographs taken pursuant to subsection (a), (a1), or (a2) of this section maybe forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, or other law‑enforcement agencies. (1973, c. 1286, s. 1; 1977,c. 711, s. 22; 1979, c. 850; 1981, c. 862, s. 3; 1993, c. 539, s. 298; 1994,Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 23.2(b); 1998‑202,s. 13(f); 2007‑370, s. 1; 2007‑534, s. 1.)