Biometric ID at issue in California Uber fight

Uber driver background checks 'not good enough' (BBC)

At a press conference, George Gascon, district attorney in San Francisco, said problems with the data that Uber relied on to check drivers meant it could miss some former criminals. For instance, he said, 30,000 registered sex offenders were not in the database Uber used.

An alternative screening system used by other cab firms called Livescan did catch people who were on the sex offenders list, said Mr Gascon.

US: Los Angeles County acquiring multimodal biometric ID system

LA County Sheriff’s Department to Start Collecting Face and Eye Scans (The Epoch Times)

Thai argues the new data collection will actually protect people from identity theft and will avoid wrongful arrests.

“Sometimes we arrest people, and they don’t use their real name, so by having a better way to identify that person, it will protect the public [from] those that will get their name used by somebody else,” he said.

The technology will be used by all of the approximately 46 law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County. It will take about 15-18 months to be installed and fully operational.

LA County may be one of the more complex law enforcement environments in the developed world.

Who should pay for public sector biometrics?

CALIFORNIA: Bill could boost vehicle fees for fingerprint ID programs (Manteca Bulletin)

Counties will be allowed to increase vehicle registration fees to pay for fingerprint identification programs under a bill that advanced to the governor’s desk Monday.
...
A law passed in 1997 created the Cal-ID program, allowing counties to charge $1 surcharges on vehicle registration fees to fund programs to identify people under arrest and human remains with fingerprints. Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, says his bill will help the programs keep up with advancements in technology.

This article caught my eye, because these kinds of biometric systems can really help save a lot of law enforcement resources especially in a state as large as California. These systems however, do cost money.

Schools, technology, and privacy

Scrutiny in California for Software in Schools (NY Times)

A leading California lawmaker plans to introduce state legislation on Thursday that would shore up privacy and security protections for the personal information of students in elementary through high school, a move that could alter business practices across the nearly $8 billion education technology software industry.

The bill would prohibit education-related websites, online services and mobile apps for kindergartners through 12th graders from compiling, using or sharing the personal information of those students in California for any reason other than what the school intended or for product maintenance.

This strikes me as a much better approach to technology in schools than what Florida state Senate is contemplating.

As we've mentioned before, the issue of privacy in schools is very much bigger than biometrics. Schools also keep academic records, behavioral records, medical records, socio-economic assessments for administering school lunch programs, home address information, counseling notes and a ton of other information that is much more sensitive than a fingerprint template consisting of a string text characters that cannot be used to learn anything about a student. If schools are unable to keep data secure, biometric template information is the last thing that should concern parents.

Too often, news accounts use biometrics as the ultimate example of private information and the hook on which to hang all sorts of fears the reader is supposed to imagine — i.e. part of the problem — when they are actually part of the solution. Because biometrics are far superior to usernames and passwords for securing personal information, why isn't all electronic access to student information should be controlled biometrically?

Disney biometrics: Going back to Cali? I don't think so.

Disney [Kinda] Puts Its Foot Down on Ticket Renting (COASTER-net)

Disney began cracking down when they realized that the businesses were offering these multi-day discounts for less than $100 a day when the going rate for both parks is $125 for a single-day ticket.
...
Walt Disney parks in Florida and other parks such as SeaWorld and Busch Gardens theme parks use a biometric finger scanning system for their multi-day pass system. However, according to Disney in California a similar system will not be used at the Disneyland Resort theme parks.

OK, I'll save you the Google search. Here it is...

Mobile Fingerprint Biometrics Increase Law Enforcement Effectiveness

More Arrests Thanks to Finger Print Technology (KION)
Santa Cruz, California...

In the last six months, officers have used the hand held device close to 50 times and over half identified a suspect already in the system. It's even helping make more arrests.

"Just last week we had a guy who we stopped for drug sales and normally it would've been a misdemeanor citation...We used the finger print machine and found out he had a felony warrant...Then we found he had heroin on him and scales," said Sgt. Flippo.

What will they think of next?

First Candy & Soda, Now There's Pot Vending Machines (KION - Santa Cruz, CA)

"This is just part of the plan of where we want to be a year from now," said Scott McPhail.

By 2013, McPhail hopes you can get your medical marijuana the same way you buy a soda, right out of a machine.

Battle Tested Information Technology Applied to Local Law Enforcement

Sheriff's deputies to get battlefield-tested technology (Los Angeles Times)

At a total cost to taxpayers of $20 million, Raytheon Co. promises to deliver technology that will enable deputies on the road to sort through key intelligence information in mere seconds, where it once took hours or days. In a single roadside stop, they'll have the ability to run a background check using a searchable FBI database — or pull up a suspect's mug shots or even obtain biometric data, such as fingerprints — on the spot.

Technology once reserved for analysts in sheriff's stations is being taken by deputies as they investigate crime scenes, chase down suspects and answer calls for help as the need for on-the-spot data becomes more urgent in sprawling urban areas.

Technology finding its way from distant battlefields and into our everyday lives is nothing new, and with cuts to the U.S. military budget widely predicted, it shouldn't be surprising that the companies who have developed all sorts of information technology for use in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would seek to sell those products into new markets.

Technology that improves efficiency for local law enforcement organizations may get a lot more attention if the budget cuts expected by the Defense Dept. begin to confront big city police departments like the LAPD in Los Angeles.

USA: Georgia Agricultural Commissioner and San Francisco County Clerk agree: Biometrics Make ID Stronger

Two very different articles touching on the subjects of biometrics, ID and people illegally residing in the US have been published over the last couple of days.

One is an opinion piece by Bryan Tolar, President of the Georgia Agribusiness Council appearing in the Tifton (Ga.) Gazette.

Guest workers: A workable system is needed

Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the need for a workable guest worker program. He discussed Georgia’s immigration situation and spoke in favor of a program that works for Georgia’s citizens and non-citizens alike. He mentioned that his agency carries out many tasks delegated to them by the federal government, so why not allow Georgians to manage a guest worker program to fit the needs of Georgia.

The other article is from the Dayton (Oh.) Daily News discussing the proposed issuance of identification cards to residents with no other form of ID, without regard to immigration status. Though the issue is being discussed for Dayton, Ohio, the article is sourced from cities (New Haven, Connecticut and San Francisco, California) that have experience in issuing similar ID's.

Dayton considers immigrant IDs

The need for the card surfaced in New Haven in 2005 when immigrants, lacking ID to open bank accounts, were routinely profiled for theft on payday. Junta for Progressive Action Inc. — a nonprofit serving low-income immigrant communities in New Haven — called on students at Yale University Law School to verify whether the city could legally issue the cards.

So, we have two very different groups, with two very different interests, facing very different challenges. Both sets of challenges, however, flow from an underlying failure of identity management.

Georgia agribusiness and city governments are both attempting to confront problems arising from a lack of legitimate ID, an issue we have addressed many times. Agribusiness wants a more certain, affordable and predictable labor market. The city governments want less crime involving people without ID.

It is Interesting to note, though it won't surprise frequent readers of this blog, that both see that biometrics are useful tool in administering the type of ID management system that will advance their higher order goals.

This program would require those in the country illegally to pay a fine for breaking the law. It would give them a biometric identification card that would allow the state of Georgia to track their whereabouts and keep up with their employer. It would make them go back to their home country periodically – they would truly be guest workers. Commissioner Black’s comments were clear that these foreign workers would not receive amnesty and they would not be on a path to US citizenship. It is a solution that has merit on all sides, as it would incentivize illegal immigrants to come forward, pay their fine, get an identification card, and work in our country for a set period of time safely and legally [emphasis mine].

and

After the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation to issue city ID cards in 2007, it fell to Karen Hong Yee, director of the Office of County Clerk, to design a system with built-in safety features to shield against fraud and counterfeiting.

“We did a lot of vetting of worst-case scenarios,” Hong Yee said. “My card is more secure than a driver’s license.”

The SF City ID Card system includes biometric facial recognition software, to ensure the same individual doesn’t apply twice under different names [emphasis mine].

Georgia farmers and San Francisco public servants agree. Biometrics make a better ID.