The last two days has seen the Echo/Daily Post publish two stories about compulsory fingerprinting in Liverpool. These are a couple more steps down the line to creating an Orwellian nightmare in a city that already has more CCTV cameras per person than any other in the country, and where police have floated the idea of using military-style 'drones'.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Liverpool faith schools will be introducing scanners which read children's thumb prints when they buy school meals (
http://tinyurl.com/ygetv5). No-one from the school was available to comment, but one parent said: "To me, the electronic scanning of seven-year-old children's thumbs is not in their best interests.
"About a month ago, we were first told a new cashless system would be coming into operation.
"If you really do not want your child's thumb scanned, they can input a six-digit number instead. So why use the thumb print at all?
"The previous system worked well for years, so I cannot think of a valid reason to introduce this."
This evening, Merseyside Police are said to be "seriously considering" taking fingerprints from drinkers and clubbers before they enter bars and clubs ( http://tinyurl.com/yy78rk).
The paper claims that this is 'a bid to stamp out alcohol-related crime', and 'all revellers would have their right index fingers scanned by a computer and their details and photographs stored on a database.
'Biometric details of individuals along with their name, address and date of birth would be recorded as they enter licensed premises, the data being shared by all pub landlords and club managers in the city, so known trouble-makers could be tracked.'
http://tinyurl.com/ygetv5). No-one from the school was available to comment, but one parent said: "To me, the electronic scanning of seven-year-old children's thumbs is not in their best interests. "About a month ago, we were first told a new cashless system would be coming into operation.
"If you really do not want your child's thumb scanned, they can input a six-digit number instead. So why use the thumb print at all?
"The previous system worked well for years, so I cannot think of a valid reason to introduce this."
This evening, Merseyside Police are said to be "seriously considering" taking fingerprints from drinkers and clubbers before they enter bars and clubs (
http://tinyurl.com/yy78rk). The paper claims that this is 'a bid to stamp out alcohol-related crime', and 'all revellers would have their right index fingers scanned by a computer and their details and photographs stored on a database.
'Biometric details of individuals along with their name, address and date of birth would be recorded as they enter licensed premises, the data being shared by all pub landlords and club managers in the city, so known trouble-makers could be tracked.'
Comments
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Looks like they've tried the school meals one out in Georgia
26.10.2006 21:02
Neon Black
The Police State of mind...
11.11.2006 13:24
We've said at regular meetings that while we discuss the principles and moral opposition to ID Cards and database, it will become a truely live and contentious issue with more people when it directly effects them. Tony Blair's plastic poll tax it's being called.
A friend of mine yesterday said "I think this taking people's finger prints and details at pubs and clubs is extreme". He raised all kinds of concerns about people with spent criminal records, someone who once smoked some weed being the person who the finger is pointed at if there is trouble in the pub or bar. For someone as unpolitical as him it has now touched upon his own life. The same goes with finger printing for children at schools, once on file the police have the right to free access to such databases. Seems that our children are increasingly being DNA sampled (20,000), finger printed, digitally photographed, categorised and filed, that also includes computer files set up by children's centres using the national computer database called the Children's Index.
Many of us already know Merseyside police to be a law entirely unto themselves, they've now got Taser weapons, the yellow handled item on the tool belt of officers, they want to use remote controlled planes to spy upon certain neighbourhoods.
Seems democracy is in danger with a 'shoot to kill' unaccountable British police force.
Kai Andersen