JohnS

iTrader: (1)

Yes it would be feasible, and not too difficult to do. After all, there are already quite a few national databases (NI numbers, pensions etc) which deal with this volume of data. The underlying database design we have is very good, robust, and secure, and it wouldn't do any harm for the Government to have a look at it (but of course they wouldn't, and spend billions designing something new from scratch that will overruun on time and budget and be less than useful). After all, the project was developed and delivered on budget (ok slight overrun on time due to extended testing) at a cost of about £2M.

The volume of data held on each person shouldn't really amount to more than a few KBytes at most, including a photograph, fingerprint (I believe it's possible to compress these quite well, and most of the matching is done on about 20 key points). Retinal scans and DNA information would no doubt take up a bit more space, but at the end of the day the data is easy to store.

When we scan cards at heliports for people flying offshore, it brings up all their details on screen in about 2 - 5 seconds, including their photo for security checking.

Now that we don't use a chip card, full colour ID cards cost about 20p each to produce, and print in under 20 seconds.

Even if all police cars did have a reader, connected by mobile phone technology (say even at 9600bps), it wouldn't take more than say 20 seconds to connect, download the database info for an ID card, compare it to what was on the card, and then disconnect. Probably quite a lot quicker than it is at the moment, whereby they radio back to HQ and they do a spot check on a person's name etc.

The trick of course will be to interface this "master/reference" database with the many others that are out there, and to keep the details up to date (ie changes made on one database then filter through to all the others, so you don't have to phone/write to 10,000 different places and agencies when you change address etc).

It can all work - the technology exists already and has been proven. Whether or not the public will reap the potential benefits is another matter, and of course whether the costs can be kept under control.

John

Felix.

So what were they then.......I’m intrigued?

suprabeast

So if they have this technology to just check your finger print, why do you need an ID card?? they could just plug you into the finger print machine and collect all your info from the national database.

Therefore proving that people dont need id cards

ajm

Group buy on lye to burn our fingerprints off?

dsmith

very soon everyone will be on the NHS national care record service from birth. perhaps the database they need will exist sooner than we think.....?

johnskelley

good point

Felix.

Fingerprints alone on everyone can be tricky. AFIS (Automatic Fingerprint Recognition Sysyem) usally brings back a number of hits from a fingerprint found at a crime scene. A human being then needs to analyze each on carefully to find an exact match.

The system used by immigration, although similar, uses a much smaller database. Each lawfull asylum seeker is fingerprinted as they arrive, so any random check on an unlawfull asylem seeker is easier to spot.

A similar argument can be made for DNA, iris scans etc. It would be a lot easier for people to carry a specfic tangible card.

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

will be like the film 'Minority Report' wheras everybody gets scanned everywhere they go.....will be a black market for eyeballs and fingers

This ID nonsense does not work....you only have to look at similar sized countries which have enforced this scheme.

Bob

IanW

That is how i see it too.