Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

 
 
Wednesday, 19th November 2008

Premium Article !

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

Premium Article !

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the n/a site.

Subscribe

Registered Article !

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

Sign In
Register

Concerns over fingerprinting in schools



Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 26 August 2008
Civil liberties campaigners claim a scheme to replace dinner money with fingerprint-recognition machines at schools will threaten children's human rights.
Now as protester has launched a website this week to fight Derbyshire County Council's £232,000 decision to introduce the machines at 22 schools, including Denby's John Flamsteed Community School.

Council chiefs say the system would remove the nee
d for pupils to carry cash, produce a quicker dinner service and reduce bullying.

But civil liberties campaigner Glyn Harris, from Carsington, said it was a waste of taxpayers' money and a threat to children's human rights.

Mr Harris said: "It seems like overkill and there's quite a lot of concern regarding it, especially with the amount of money being spent, so I've put together this website.

But cabinet members for schools Cllr Alan Charles denied the system stored fingerprints and said it was used successfully across Britain.
Cllr Charles said: "Cashless systems are used voluntarily, with
parental permission.

"Features of students' fingerprints are translated into numbers which can't be transferred back into a fingerprint."

The county council said the information – which includes pupils' names, year groups, free meal status and photos, if applicable – would be held on a council-run secure server.

Cllr Charles added the system – which will be phased in over three years – would bring faster service and meant pupils receiving free meals could not be identified or stigmatised.



The full article contains 236 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 26 August 2008 2:54 PM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Belper
 
Prev
1
Next
1

Brassed Off of Belper,

27/08/2008 11:10:40
In the 1950s, if you wanted to put panic into the general public, you only needed to use the words 'atomic' or 'radioactive'. In the late 1980s, the same effect could be achieved with 'AIDS'. Why - because the public did not know all the facts and therefore was scared of being ignorant.

The same applies nowadays with this idea of fingerprinting schoolchildren and, in a slightly wider context, the carrying of identity cards. Some people, and I include Glyn Harris, seem overly paranoid about anything they think might infringe on human rights. Sometimes these things have to be done for the greater good of the public. After all, if you've nothing to hide why should it bother you?
2

Kevin@Smartran,

London 27/08/2008 22:04:19
Recent work in London found views on this issue to be very polarised. Both Scotland and London councils are currently implementing card based schemes. Finger print methods have the advantage of convenience and not being left at home, however their use is contenious, they are not always reliable and the scheme is unlikely to be useful beyond the school gate (eg after school club, library, leisure centre, bus). I also find the re-cycled supplier logic to be flawed - if the system can differentiate between 1500 people in a school, it might be possible to determine the closest match to a good quality finger print - I am not aware this has been done, but it is a possibility.

I am surprised the council has not identified the savings that can be achieved by replacing cash if the scheme is implemented effectively. There are good arguments for introducing greater security, cashless catering and possibly e-registration, however this can be achieved at a similar cost with cards rather than finger print scanning.

I wish the scheme well and trust parents have been informed and consulted.

Kevin Farquharson
3

Steve Beecroft,

Sussex 27/08/2008 22:51:30
I accept that some people will not share my views but I have seen first hand the benefits or removing cash from schools that leave me convinced that this IS more beneficial than it is sinister.

Elimination of Free School Meals stigma.
Reduction of bullying and theft
Faster throughput (serving of meals).
Pupil feel safer at school (for me this is very important)

Smart technologies in schools gets my support but if there are equally compelling arguments against then I would be willing to listen to them.

Steve Beecroft
Technologist but moreover a conscientious parent

4

Donna Noble,

Alvaston 28/08/2008 15:42:04
People seem to be 'fine' about this, but they aren't looking at the bigger picture.

Ever wonder why identity cards are targeted at students and fingerprinting at kids?

Its because when you look 15 or 20 yards down the line, certain elements want fingerprinting or identity cards to appear 'normal' to isolate people that see this as damaging to their civil liberties and its far easier to force their views on children and to indoctrinate children than it is anyone else.

Its a trick that the jesuits or nazis would have been proud of.

It might start at fingerprinting for school dinners, but when will it stop?

When I was a kid, the only people that needed to be fingerprinted were criminals, and we got our school dinners fine without any hassles. Its a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

How many liberties will people lose for conveniences sake?

What is needed is a debate amongst the adult population about where we want society to head.
5

Donna Noble,

Alvaston 28/08/2008 15:46:17
Forgot to add this as well. You want your kids fingerprinted over a couple of fish fingers?

PS Belper News, if someone had produced a website could you provide the web address please!! pet hate of mine when people write articles about website but never put the address on !!!
6

Brassed Off of Belper,

29/08/2008 12:56:43
Donna, if you read the article again, you'll see it states "...Features of students' fingerprints are translated into numbers which can't be transferred back into a fingerprint." Therefore, how can this information be of any use to 'certain elements' 15-20 years down the line? All they will have is a set of numbers.

I still do not see the basic problem with either a national fingerprint database or identity cards. Before you say anything, I do not wear jackboots nor have I ever invaded Poland: I do however believe in law and order. I think a national fingerprint database and the carrying of identity cards would decrease the amount of criminal activity, benefit fraud and illegal immigration all of which is costing me and the rest of the UK tax payers a lot of money that could be better spent elsewhere.

The only thing that would worry me would be the security of the database.
7

Dazza71,

Belper 01/09/2008 16:34:14
Brassed off, can't you see that the reason fingerprinting will be used 15-20 years down the line is not in the actual use of the information, but in the fact that people will accept being fingerprinted as an everyday fact of life for every type of transaction.

Thats why its the kids and students that get started first, because they are more susceptible.

Its already being started by Jacqui Smiths new part-time police that can demand to see your identity on demand. WHY? If one badged up jobsworth asks me to prove my identity they can go whistle.

Thats not any kind of society I want to live in, where constantly you are being asked to prove your own identity.

It will be a sad, soul-less, trust-less minority report style society, where everyone lives behind biometric fences.

Your welcome to it, if thats the kind of future you want.

8

Brassed Off of Belper,

03/09/2008 10:47:34
To Dazza71, what is your fundamental reason for objecting to proving your identity to a police officer?
Prev
1
Next

 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
RSS Feed of this article's comments
Delivery formats: RSS, Atom, Javascript & Email
 
  

 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.