Biometric IDs OK With U.K.
About 80 percent of 1,000 British adults recently surveyed say they want a biometric identification card, citing concerns about illegal immigration and identity theft.
The survey by Market & Opinion Research International for Detica, a U.K. computer-consulting company, also found that an equal number would be "happy to carry the card at all times," though half wouldn't pay for it.
Those findings came amid a busy week for biometrics in Britain. The Home Secretary has introduced legislation to implement a centralized "national identity register" database by 2010. A family of national identity cards -- including driver's licenses and passports -- could appear by 2007, then cover 80 percent of the "economically active" population by 2010, with cards becoming compulsory. Observers predict the legislation will be voted on by next year. The overall cost is estimated to be 3.1 billion pounds ($5.5 billion) -- provided the rollout goes smoothly.
The United Kingdom Passport Service also began a six-month biometric passport trial this week with 10,000 volunteers, putting facial, iris and fingerprint scanning and recognition technology through real-world testing. The passport service plans to implement biometric passport technology by the middle of 2005.
Though the survey shows that most Britons back national identity cards, there's a wrinkle: Half said they won't pay for it, and few were very familiar with the cards. Contrast that with the government's plan to charge 35 pounds for an identity card good for 10 years, or 77 pounds for a card including passport, for every family member 16 to 80 years old.
