Biometrics cut pub brawls by a quarter

A biometric scheme that scans drinkers' thumbprints before they enter a pub has helped cut alcohol-related crime in the South Somerset town of Yeovil.

South Somerset District Council said it has seen a 23.5 per cent drop in alcohol-related violent crime inside licensed premises in Yeovil since the system was introduced, compared with figures from the same period last year.

Under the pilot scheme every drinker must supply a thumbprint, name, address and date of birth before being allowed to enter any of the seven licensed premises in the town centre using the technology.

A drinker barred from one pub is then automatically barred from all pubs using the system.

A spokesman from the South Somerset District Council said the thumbprint technology is considered to be a contributing factor to this decline in alcohol-related crime.

silicon.com Public Sector

Get the latest public sector news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the PS newsletter today!

But despite rumours the technology is to be introduced in other UK cities, Coventry, Leeds and Sheffield city councils have all told silicon.com that fingerprint scanning is not a technology under consideration.

A spokeswoman from Sheffield City Council told silicon.com that to implement fingerprint recognition the council would need access to the police fingerprint database - and claimed this access is not currently possible.

She added: "If and when ID cards come out we might have the technology to do this but we have no plans [for fingerprint recognition in pubs] in the short term."