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UK Police Implement Roadside Fingerprinting Tools

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the blood-and-urine-samples-next dept.

mormop writes to tell us the BBC is reporting that police in the UK have implemented a pilot program that allows officers to fingerprint drivers using a small handheld scanner connected to a database of approximately 6.5 million prints. From the article: "Officers promise prints will not be kept on file but concerns have been raised about civil liberties. [...] It is primarily aimed at motorists because banned or uninsured drivers often give false names, although pedestrians could also be asked to give prints if they are suspected to have committed an offence."

3 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. Call me old fashioned... by Odiumjunkie · · Score: 4, Informative

    but the summary isn't that good.

  2. Typical by Jaknet · · Score: 5, Informative

    I submitted this 6 hours before this one was sumbitted.... but because scuttlemonkey is a regular submitter mine gets binned and it included the link to the BBC story as well.

    Yes I know I'm going to get modded down.... but as it seems to be only the favourites here who are allowed to submit... sod it.

  3. Re:Probable cause by Gandalf_the_Beardy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Of course that is what they said about DNA sampling in the UK. Then when they found out the police had been illegally storing a massive database, they just changed the law to make it legal. At that point with the obvious duplicity of the police I decided there and then I'd just refuse full stop to help them in any way. They will do the same with the fingerprint checker, I have no doubt of that.