NCJ Number
213115
Date Published
2005
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Using a literature review on the nature and implementation of biometrics, as well as the report on the biometrics forum hosted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada in October 2003, this chapter discusses the parameters for the political debate on biometrics as a security mechanism.
Abstract
The discussion of biometrics as a security mechanism presupposes that the key to security is the ability to accurately identify individuals based on particular physical characteristics such as hand and finger contours, eye characteristics, and facial features. Thus, in the literature and in the forum, the existence and use of a database of physical characteristics to identify individuals based on their physical features is not deemed to be an issue that warrants political discussion. This is because having a database of a person's physical characteristics does not violate privacy and being able to identify individuals accurately is presumed to be an inherent public good. The political issues become the maintenance of the accuracy of the database and ensuring that it is only used for purposes determined through political debate. Discussions of the reliability and usefulness of biometrics ultimately centers on the management of the database of biometric characteristics of individuals. The official report from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada forum notes that many if not most participants and presenters agreed there is nothing inherently privacy-enhancing or privacy-restrictive about the use of biometrics; therefore, it must be examined in the context of specific applications and their related data management environment. The report goes on to emphasize the importance of managing data in order to ensure accuracy and avoid abuse. 3 notes and 41 references