UK: Nightclubs introduce big brother fingerprint scanners into the heart of England

Record ID: 838328

  • Title: UK: Nightclubs introduce big brother fingerprint scanners into the heart of England
  • Date: 14th May 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PATRON ROGER SAYING: "It's just, people keeping track of you. Alright, fair play things kick off, you know, it's good that you might know who's here but for the rest of us, why is it needed?"
  • Embargoed: 29th May 2006 13:00
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  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVADBYO1EEDF3CB41PKPS11NIPVN
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  • Story Text: In the picturesque county of Somerset, a rural area famed for its cheddar cheese and apple cider, big brother is keeping an eye on the quaint town of Yeovil and some of its inhabitants.
    Clubgoers in the town of 40,000 are coming to grips with a new system more at home in a Hollywood science fiction movie than in traditional England.
    As patrons enter clubs and bars of the town, they are asked to register their personal information, have their photograph taken and submit to a biometric finger scan which makes use of the individual pattern found on the surface of everyone's finger tip.
    While finger scanners are not a new invention, it is this futuristic application which is claimed to be a first.
    The idea -- hatched by local police and licensees -- is to help identify trouble makers in venues. If a person causes trouble, this is entered on a database and the venue's door staff can then decide to grant entry the next time the troublemaker turns up at the club.
    What makes the system even more unique, is that if the 'troublemaker' then attempts to enter one of the other venues in town, his updated details will appear on the shared database in real time.
    "On various instances, we've had members of the public assaulted in our premises so the system is good and handy in that way, we can separate those people from the others and when we place a note on their system, on their file and they go to another premise in the town, they're aware of what's happened in our premise and they can make their own mind up whether they let them in or not," explained Jordan Frost, manager of Harry's, one of the six clubs part of the scheme.
    Despite a 39% drop in the incidence of crime since 1995, anti-social behaviour (ASB) is still a serious problem in the England and Wales with around 66,000 reports made to authorities each day, according to the Home Office. ASB includes anti-social drinking, yobbish behaviour and intimidating groups taking over public spaces.
    What is more, half of all violent crime is linked to excessive drinking and the government is still waiting to see how the figures will be affected since new licensing laws for pubs and clubs -- allowing extended drinking hours -- were introduced last November.
    But, civil libertarians and human rights groups are up in arms over the scheme and say it is invasion of privacy as well being an excessive response to a problem.
    However, Sergeant Jackie Gold, of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary -- the brainchild behind the idea -- says that the scanner does not take a true fingerprint and that personal data is only seen by management.
    "When you scan in, it doesn't take your print, it just takes various points from your finger that's unique to you only and those details are held by the licensees. Now, on individual premises, only the licensee and one or two people within those venues or either management will have access to your full details. The bar staff, the door supervisors, will not," explained Gold.
    The system is run entirely by the licensees and police cannot gain access to the system.
    But, this is little comfort to some critics who say that this is actually makes the system worse and open to abuse.
    "It's even more terrifying in a way that this is not being conducted by public authorities who have legal obligations and are to some extent subject to public scrutiny," said Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human right's group Liberty.
    "The fact that this is informal and run by the clubs itself is no comfort at all. You know, what assurance is there that these fingerprints are being used appropriately? What assurance is there that the right fingerprint has been matched to the right person? What assurance is there that people are being treated fairly? The danger with this is that we are treating all young people like criminals, including those who haven't really done anything," she said.
    At another venue across town, revellers enjoy their Friday night out and hit the dancefloor -- but only after being photographed and their fingerprint scanned before entering the premises.
    Despite criticism, licensees and managers are saying the majority of their customers are accepting of the new scheme.
    "Very positive feedback.. I would have thought that 99 percent of our customers that we've spoken to about the system have been, it's all been very positive...There's a small minority that have been asking questions about it, who aren't too sure or even against it," said Dave Gordon, manager of the Beach Cafe Bar.
    Most people interviewed in the town's bars and clubs didn't seem the mind the scheme -- they said it ensured them a good night out without any problems.
    "There's many times where we've been pushed and shoved, where we're not actually involved in any violence. You sort of get caught up in it. It just, it ruins the evening. It'd be nice hopefully to to go out and not have to be, have really your evening ruined by troublemakers," said twenty-five-year-old Emily, from Yeovil.
    One clubber said he wasn't happy about the system: "It's just, people keeping track of you. Alright, fair play things kick off, you know, it's good that you might know who's here but for the rest of us, why is it needed?"
    What is taking place in Yeovil could be a sign of things to come. All eyes will be watching to see how the scheme progresses and local police says that if it proves successful it could not only spread to other towns in England's West country but could perhaps become a nationwide reality.
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