Biometric Identification Comes Of Age

Boston (dbtechno) – In a project that holds a lot of heavy-duty ramifications, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it was pouring over one billion dollars into building a biometric identification system.

Biometrics is the science of measuring parts of the human body, facial characteristics, length of bones, distance between features, and other measurements. It has been proven that by mapping the measurements of some body features you can build a profile of an individual that is unique only to them.

In its new database and system, the FBI plans to use palm patterns, fingerprints, and digital face images as part of a method of recognizing and identifying individuals. A ten-year contract is in the offing with a private contractor, and this would markedly increase the amount of available information that the FBI has access to.

Law enforcement and police forces around the world would be given access to the database to help identify and catch criminals both domestically and internationally.

Civil Rights Advocates are alarmed, claiming that this will lead to a loss of civil liberties.

The database that is being compiled would allow public sources, such as cameras in malls, busy streets, and traffic cameras to register images, and compare them to databases. If a facial image is recognized in the software, a name and identification will pop up announcing the ID of an individual.

The FBI announced that if an employer requests, that it will also retain the fingerprints of employees. Employees routinely submit their fingerprints in criminal background checks, and the FBI has said it will keep this information on record if requested.

Such use of the data found in biometrics is troubling to some. Some critics of the new program announcement say that the process is not full proof, and should be tested and proven before being agreed to. They believe that such a system will result in false ID issues and lead to wrongful convictions of innocent people.

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