Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK
Urmee Khan, The Telegraph
October 29, 2008
Up to 50 nurseries and playgroups have already signed up for the new security measures, thought to be the first time parents have been targetted in this way.
Civil libertarians have branded the decision a “huge overeaction”.
The new entry system requires people who collect their children to place their finger on a scanner, to make sure that only nominated individuals can get through secure entrances.
Kidsunlimited, the nursery chain, will be rolling out the new technology to its 50 playgroups.
Honeycomb Solutions, the security firm behind the technology, say it is an effective way to monitor who is on their premises.
The scanners work by converting parents’ finger prints into a code number. This number enables the system to recognise the finger, without storing any biometric data.
The company claims that the database cannot be accessed by any human, similar to the way banks protect credit card pin numbers.
Peter Churchley of Caring Daycare, a group of eight nursery schools in Surrey that cater for children aged 3 months to 5 years, said: “We’ve had the Honeycombe Solutions fingerprinting technology installed in two of our nurseries.
“Parents have reacted very positively to the moves and the security is a reassurace that the premises are secure for recognised people. I do think a greater number of nurseries will be thinking about finger printing. We also have CCTV camera.”
Mr Churchley said that a package of five CCTV cameras and the fingerprinting systems costs £10,000.
The Government has issued guidance telling head teachers they have the right to collect pupils’ biometric data for security reasons.
The information could be used to monitor attendance, control entry to the school building and allow pupils to take books out of libraries.
But the move continues to be criticised by civil liberty groups and opposition MPs, who fear that data may be stolen by identity thieves. Official guidance says that personal data, including fingerprints and eyeball scans, can be collected from pupils, although schools must consult parents before installing the technology.
Any information gathered will be subject to data protection laws and should not be shared with outside bodies, says the guidance.
However, the Government insists that using biometric data is an efficient way of tracking children during the school day. It is estimated that at least 200 schools used fingerprint scans, before any official guidance was published. But this is thought to be the first time that parents have been targeted.
However there have been concerns about parents’ privacy and campaigners have said the decision is a “huge overreaction”.
Dan Norris, Labour MP for Wansdyke and a prominent child welfare campaigner, said: “My instinct is that is some what of an overreaction. It strikes me quite a strong reaction to a problem that could be managed in a less confrontational way. Fingerprinting is quite a big deal.”
George Bathurst, Managing Director of Honeycomb Solutions said: “This cutting edge system will revolutionise the way we keep our children safe by ensuring that only authorised people can get into the classroom. Even when you have authorisation staff will know who you are, and when arrived. This can be monitored centrally, providing an additional layer of security. We predict that within the next five years this system will become common place across the country.”
Source | See Also under Tracking: Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | Germany rejects full-body scans at airports | Homeland Security Assuming Broad Powers, Turning Swaths of U.S. into “Constitution-Free Zone” | Interpol wants facial recognition database to catch suspects | | UK Shortly to Become Worse Surveillance Society than Stasi East Germany | ‘Pre-crime’ detector shows promise | Feds give customs agents free hand to seize travelers’ documents | American Rail Passengers Subject to Random Searches, Police Presence | Ottawa balks at travel permit for man trapped in Sudan | First it’s ‘For the Children’: Microsoft working to ID you online | Global ‘Intelligent Transport’ initiative comes to your cellphone: Location data used to track traffic flow | ‘Environmental volunteers’ will be encouraged to spy on their neighbours | Smith’s Stasi are a menace to freedom | Greyhound bus passengers now subject to arbitrary luggage searches | NYC Residents Furious over Invasive Surveillance Grid | Security officials to scan D.C. area license plates | Beijing Taxis Are Bugged ‘For Driver Safety’ | Edmonton bus terminal ‘wide open’, security needed: ex-security guard | Bombs explode, Washington-based Intelcenter releases yet another terror video, China cracks down on transport security | Troops patrolling Italian cities alongside police | Eye scans, fingerprints to control NZ borders | Turning Toronto into a nanny state | TTC officers won’t carry Tasers, guns | Papers Please: UK cops stopping millions in street | Police to demand blood, urine at roadside stops | Armed Police to Roam Toronto High Schools | Air passengers to undergo ‘virtual strip search’ | Berlusconi puts 2,500 troops on streets of Italian cities to patrol alongside police | Ottawa Proposes Band-Aid ‘Bill of Rights’ for Airline Travellers | Pistol Pendant Causes Airport Holdup | US Homeland Security Keen on ‘Novel’ Israeli Airport Security Technology | Tanks, Face-Scanning Cameras Part of ‘Discreet’ 2010 Games Security | $4 Million Earmarked for Cameras, “Respect” at Toronto Schools | Vancouver Olympics security cameras raise privacy concerns | American Border Officers Want to Fingerprint Canadians at SPP Bridge | Machine Gun-Toting Officers To Patrol NYC Subway | Airport scanner a ‘virtual strip search’ | U.S. to collect DNA at border | TTC studies using Tasers | CBC Radio Broadcasts Expose of North American Police State
January 5th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
[...] applicants to lie-detector tests | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | [...]
February 5th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
[...] to get used to seeing armed figures of authority in every part of their lives. Oh, we should start fingerprinting or face scanning them for access next, just like in England and Scotland. Oh, perhaps we should [...]
February 26th, 2009 at 10:37 am
[...] Units Assigned For Homeland Security | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Germany rejects full-body scans at airports | US military targets social nets | UK Shortly to [...]
March 1st, 2009 at 10:15 pm
[...] applicants to lie-detector tests | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | [...]
March 6th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
[...] applicants to lie-detector tests | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | [...]
March 15th, 2009 at 8:43 am
[...] growth makes privacy advocates wary | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | [...]
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:14 am
[...] Units Assigned For Homeland Security | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Germany rejects full-body scans at airports | US military targets social nets | UK Shortly to [...]
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:10 am
[...] applicants to lie-detector tests | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | [...]
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:05 am
[...] Units Assigned For Homeland Security | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Germany rejects full-body scans at airports | US military targets social nets | UK Shortly to [...]
May 12th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
[...] [...]
May 21st, 2009 at 11:14 am
[...] Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | Scots [...]
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:02 pm
[...] Units Assigned For Homeland Security | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Germany rejects full-body scans at airports | US military targets social nets | UK Shortly to [...]
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:52 am
[...] to lie-detector tests | UK Home Secretary: People ‘can’t wait’ for biometric ID cards | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 10:32 am
[...] [...]
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
[...] every child in Britain | Safety report author Falconer on armed police in schools: “Facile” | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Frequent school lockdowns raise questions | 27 Toronto schools to get armed police presence | Two [...]
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:26 am
[...] to lie-detector tests | UK Home Secretary: People ‘can’t wait’ for biometric ID cards | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | [...]
March 5th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
[...] plans to link criminal records to ID cards | Incoming CSIS chief to seek biometric data at border | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | Scots [...]
April 1st, 2010 at 3:31 pm
[...] laid | UK: New biometric security checks could include brain scans, heart rhythm fingerprinting | Parents, children to be fingerprinted at initial 250+ nursery schools in UK | Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street, vendors say face scanning next | Scots [...]
May 13th, 2010 at 3:22 am
[...] [...]