( Portable )Fingerprint scanner use raises privacy concerns in N.C.

[dixiegrrrrl]

RALEIGH — Next month, 13 law enforcement agencies in the region will begin using a new handheld device that lets an officer scan a person's fingerprints and seek a match in an electronic database - all without going anywhere.

Police say taking fingerprints in the field will allow them to work more efficiently and safely.
But the ACLU North Carolina in Raleigh worries that the device may allow officers to violate privacy rights.

The ACLU is concerned about what will become of fingerprint scans that are sent to other databases, such as the National Crime Information Center.

"Part of the danger is the idea of the government creating a database on its citizens," said Sarah Preston, policy director for ACLU North Carolina. "Citizens should be allowed some degree of privacy."


Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/12/08/104915/fingerprint-scanner-use-raises.html#ixzz17Yp72tUv

[rocktivity]

1. In the field?

Before or after you're told you're under arrest?

:shrug:
rocktivity

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. a hint might be in this sentence

state law does not allow officers to coerce or threaten a person with arrest for refusing to submit to a fingerprint scan.

found it in the expanded news source, here:

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/08/849887/print-scans-raise-worries.html#ixzz17ZPCAXnY

Sounds like they will just "talk" you into it, like they talk people into letting them search a car
with t "humorous" question " You don't have any bombs, bazookas or explosives in your car do you?"
followed immediately by "then you won't mind letting me check, right?".

[elehhhhna]

3. Did y'all know that fingerprinting has NEVER been scientifically

tested to determine whether it's actually a valid identification tool?

Weird truefact.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Universal uses fingerprint scanners.

How long before we hear that they sold their database to the FBI?