Mobile Fingerprint Scanners

[Ceres]

According to The Guardian, every police force in the UK will soon be supplied with mobile fingerprint scanners. The police will now be able to take your fingerprints in the street.

To address fears about mass surveillance and random searches, the police insist fingerprints taken by the scanners will not be stored or added to databases.

I believe you not.

 

[vlada]

I think that may be it is not the bad idea to identify criminals as quickly as possible. But it is well known that there is a tendency to lose the common sense in some affairs. I mean the discrimination of the people of the Orient origin.

 

[Ceres]

Look what happened when police were supplied with Tasers.

In Winnipeg, for example, police shootings of suspects are rare. There was one in 2003, and none in 2004. In 2006, the Winnipeg Police Service fired guns on suspects twice. They also started using Tasers in September of that year, firing them at individuals 37 times before the year was out.

Source: Tasers don't reduce shootings, despite police and politicians' claims

Some cities are no longer using Tasers as a result of the many high-profile deaths.

 

[Jeff]

Dangerous stuff! Funny how these sorts of things always seem to happen in "free" countries rather than in totalitarian countries.

Funny how people are always willing to trade their liberties to fight "terrorists" or "criminals"

 

[sanju123]

I think the police needs to be equipped with such high tech equipments. The crime rate is multiplying. Its only with these kind of steps a curb can be put.

 

[Bob]

This is a good idea. It will allow us to identify criminals faster. The police won't have to bring the suspects back to the police station and THEN fingerprint them

 

[Ceres]

I have no problem with the police using new technology to speed up their investigations. That part is great.

However, past actions have shown that the police will abuse the power handed to them. I bet a few years from now, the police will have in their possession the fingerprint records of those innocent suspects they stopped on the streets because they didn't like the colour of their skin colour, how they talked, how they looked etc etc.

 

[Bob]

While I agree with you they would need reason to take your fingerprints. If they did not have probable cause to do this too you, you are able to sue the police department. Much the same at a traffic stop. They can't search your car without your consent, unless they think your hiding drugs,etc.