26th June 2007

Greens condemn moves by Government to fingerprint pupils and develop a database on all children.

Letter to The Citizen:

Cllr Jeremy Hilton moves to oppose fingerprinting in our schools are to
be applauded (23rd June 2007). This is largely for administrative
convenience yet holds many risks. However the Government is set to give
the go-ahead and fingerprint pupils as young as five. Schools will not
have to gain written permission from each parent before fingerprints
are taken. Already 29 of our 287 County schools fingerprint pupils.

The Government has dismissed fears that school computers are not secure
enough to hold biometric data safely, that the police access to the
database is an abuse of rights and that hackers could access sensitive
data and steal children's identities.

Astonishingly already nearly 900,000 children aged 10 to 17 have their
genetic information stored on the police's national DNA database, along
with 108 under the age of 10. The Government are also planning next
year a giant electronic database containing sensitive information on
all 11 million children in England. This will be open to at least
330,000 users!

Plus of course there is the ID card for every citizen: the largest
biometric database in the world using untested technology, costing
billions and it wont even tackle identity fraud, crime or any of the
high-profile problems the Government has claimed they will address.

These projects are obscene wastes of money. Barcoding our children is
just plain wrong.

Cllr Martin Whiteside
Hillside, Claypits Lane, Thrupp, Stroud
Stroud Green Party Parliamentary Spokesperson