The documents will include data on fingerprints, the iris and possibly DNA, the plan being to minimise the risk of identity theft.
The G8 member states – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and Russia – have to balance the need to fight terrorism and the growing immigration problem, with trade, tourism and civil rights concerns, but they all agree that biometric identity documents are the way forward.
Late last month the Home Office announced a new scheme involving document scanners which scan the regular passports of UK-bound passengers boarding at Madrid and Miami, and instantly checks them against on-line law enforcement databases.
Checks are also made on passengers travelling on selected flights leaving the UK. The pre-entry screening system will identify anyone who is a known immigration or security risk, as well as helping to detect forged or stolen documents.
The Home Office has also commissioned research into technology to combat the smuggling of illegal immigrants through UK ports. In a statement from Roke Manor Research, the research and development firm revealed details of the detection system commissioned.
It is known as “Pandora” and displays the presence of people concealed in vehicles as they are driven through it at normal speed. An image similar to that of an airport X-ray hand luggage scanner is displayed to the operator, allowing only suspect vehicles to be stopped and searched. According to the BBC the system is expected to be in use in Calais within in two months.
Biometric identification is a growing tool in the police armoury. A fingerprint image transmission (FIT) system developed by Steria, a European IT services provider, is now live in the UK.
According to a statement from Steria this enables European immigration services and police to reproduce and transmit all types of fingerprints from a remote site to a central or international site.
Steria is also the company behind a recent a biometric facial recognition system being tested by Grampian Police in Scotland. In a statement the Force said that the system would allow a search of Grampian’s existing database of images. The system is said to be capable of identifying a face by searching 15 million records within one minute.