By Andy McCue, 16 June 2005 17:05
NEWS Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair has questioned whether biometric technology is reliable enough to be used in ID cards, saying it has to be "foolproof".
Speaking at a London Assembly meeting this week, Blair reaffirmed his support for ID cards "in principle" but only if the technology behind them actually works.
"I am in favour of ID cards but we have to get right the technology that lies behind it. I am not an expert on iris recognition and I am seeing different experts coming forward with different points of view. We have to settle that question. The biometrics have to be as close to foolproof as possible," he said.
Blair said that while iris recognition "may" be the answer, facial recognition is likely to be too unreliable because it can be affected by changes to the diet and things like beards.
Although Blair maintained his support for the principle of ID cards he said the question of their effectiveness and whether they will actually work is "a matter for someone else".
"Are identity cards the answer? I don't know. They will only be the answer if the recognition of them is almost perfect. The key issue is they have to work," he said.
Following Blair's answers, London Assembly members called for the government to rethink its ID cards plan after voting in favour of a motion stating that the ID cards will not be cost effective in combating crime in London and do not represent good value for money for the capital.
Conservative member Bob Neill said: "Once you drill down there are very real practical problems. The idea sounds alright but when you drill down that support is very soft indeed. The best defences against terrorism are good intelligence and a visible police presence."
Plus: Read the latest on silicon.com's ID Cards on Trial campaign here.
Comments
There are 5 comments. Join the discussion
1. Nicholas Booth
Why would I actually need to carry an ID card? If my fingerprint or iris pattern can identify me reliably, then why not check that against the central record/database rather than the card?
2. Tim
It it easier to do a "one to one" check - your fingerprint/iris etc against your id card (given that you had to prove who you were to get your card in the first place) than a one to many ie your fingerprint/iris against 60 million others held on a big database somewhere. So it makes sense to cary your card........ Not that I'm actually supporting the bl**dy things! I think it would be a technical disaster!
3. Stephen McGoldrick
It is disarmingly honest of the police to admit that the system needs to be FOOL proof if they are to use it.
4. anonymous
The human side of i/d cards is would you ever carry one?Standing in shopping queues watching the public fumble about in pockets and hand bags for credit/debit cards makes you wonder.Some one said it would be a passport for illegal entries to the country unless we get it absolutely right.Mr.Blaire is absolutely right there.So why not get it absolutely right before we burdain the public with it?
5. Roger Huffadine
Not good enough - - "as close to foolproof as possible"
The system is, today, "as close to foolproof as possible" and it is unreliable.
I always loved it when a customer asked for a Mean Time Between Failure figure without specifying a measurement period, because at the limit of infinity I can always meet the figure.
This Political speak only means that the government can go ahead NOW because the system meets the stated criteria.
Much better if Tony Blair were to say "The ID card system will not be implemented until we achieve a hit rate of 99.998% with no false positives across a random sample of 100,000 UK residents."
Now that would get my attention :)