N.Y. Correct. Law § 618

§ 618. Duties of state correctional institutions, penitentiaries,\ncounty jails and reformatories. 1. It shall also be the duty of the\ncommissioner to continue to make or have impressions made of the finger\nand thumbprints of all inmates in any of the institutions under the\njurisdiction of the department; in his discretion, to cause said inmates\nto be measured and described; and to cause to be obtained and recorded,\nso far as possible, modus operandi statements of said inmates. The\ncommissioner shall cause such impressions and measurements of persons\nconfined in state correctional institutions to be made by a person or\npersons in the official service of the state in conformity with the\nsystem now in use in the division of criminal justice services, and\nshall prescribe rules and regulations for obtaining and recording such\nmodus operandi statements, and for keeping accurate records of such\nimpressions, measurements and statements, in the offices of such\ninstitutions.\n 2. It is hereby made the duty of the officials having charge of all\nthe penitentiaries and county jails in the state to cause inmates\nconfined therein under sentence for any crime to be measured and\ndescribed and the fingerprint impressions of such inmates to be made\naccording to the rules and methods prescribed by the commissioner of\ncriminal justice services. It shall also be the duty of such officials\nin charge of such institutions to procure so far as possible modus\noperandi statements from all such prisoners. And it shall be the duty\nof such officials to cause duplicate records of such measurements,\nimpressions and statements to be made, two copies to be transmitted to\nthe division of criminal justice services within twenty-four hours\nfollowing the time of the reception of such inmates in said\ninstitutions.\n 3. There shall continue to be maintained in the various state prisons,\npenitentiaries, reformatories and other penal institutions of the state\nduring the time that prisoners are therein confined complete individual\ncase histories of each prisoner so confined.\n