Legal Commentary

Fingerprinting is So Last Year

By Jeralyn

Goodbye fingerprinting, hello iris scans.

Fingerprinting a suspect is so last year. Arapahoe County [Colorado]Sheriff Grayson Robinson unveiled new technology today that will allow officials to scan an arrestee's iris and within seconds get all the pertinent information about the person.

Funding comes from a $10,000 grant from the National Sheriffs' Association. Arapahoe County is the first recipient to install the program. Why they love it: [More...]

A person's iris, which is basically the colored part of the eye, develops in the womb and through the first year of life. After that, it doesn't change and can't be altered, unlike fingerprints...It is also more accurate than retina scanning because the retina can get diseased and change over time.

40 states will be using it and the data will go into a national database.

The project was created to secure a national database through the use of Iris Recognition Biometric Technology.

They don't just plan to use it on criminal offenders.

The sheriff's departments plans to hold fairs and other events to offer them to children and the elderly.

That's in case they get lost.

What's next?

One day in the not-so-distant future, a police officer using a smart phone will be able to scan the iris of a person, who, say, the officer runs into under suspicious circumstances. Within seconds the information would appear on the phone.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 05, 2010 (boomark / email).