Tess-Privacy

Name: Tess Unami Tueros Hofstede Title of Article:

** "NSW Police get mobile fingerprint scanners." **
Date published: 27th of February, 2009 Brief description of the ideas in the article: **Policemen in New South Wales, most populated city in Australia, were given 500 fingerprint scanners due to a 5 million dollar program. This new program consists on improving the police´s tactics of dealing with criminals. Policemen will verify adn recognise the offender´s identity in 90 seconds. If an offender´s fingerprints are on the national database, officers can confirm any previous law violations. The main commodity about this new system is that policemen will not be obliged to take the offender to the police station. This new system is seen as a good support to the well working police, says the community.** Technology: **The fingerprint scanner is the most common type of biometric used for security. It provides an identification of a person based on the acquisition and recognition of the individual and unique patterns and ridges in a fingerprint. This technology uses:**


 * **A sensor for scanning a fingerprint**
 * **Processor which stores the fingerprint database**
 * **Software which compares and matches the fingerprint to the predefined database**
 * Within the database the fingerprint is usually matched with a reference number, PIN number which then is matched to a person's name or account.**

Social and Ethical issue at stake: (identify the issue, provide the setting in the article, add your opinion, provide a solution if possible)
 * These biometric technologies are a great expense for the state. However, they are expensive as they are the latest technology and come with many advantages and privileges.**
 * **As these have fast systems they are prone to error.**
 * **The scanners are highly sensitive to the slightest changes including small amouts of sweat or just a change in humidity.**
 * **The processor might fail giving several problems. The fingerprint might not be matched to the correct person or maybe even not at all. This might let an offender get away as he is not recognized. He can be a threat to society or may have to pay certain fines but will be asked to. The database might also have failed to show all the information.**
 * **With this system the response to the information is immediate and the person has to be physically present to be authenticated. This is useful for the policemen who have the duty to capture and charge bails,fines, etc.**
 * **Fingerprints are completely personal, individual and unique. Therefore, they can not be stolen so if you have a clean history no one will be able to steal your record as it needs of your fingerprint.**