Daily Mail: The Sinister Truth - Fingerprinting

[howie]

Daily Mail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=486930&in_page_id=1770&in_page_id=1770&expand=true#StartComments)

The sinister truth about what they do with our children's fingerprints

Fionna Elliot does not look like a firebrand. A hard-working mother, she has never had the time or the interest to dabble in politics.

Yet when the local primary school wrote to her saying they were about to fingerprint her son Alexander, eight, and daughter Jessica, only six, she was furious.

The 29-year-old housewife from Balby in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, saw it as a dangerous step towards a Big Brother society.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/7773/041fingerprint468x31218eb3.jpg

Benefits of a Cashless Catering System (http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/casestudies/casestudy.cfm?id=330&subcatid=82&catid=4)

Vivian Buller is General Manager of Catering Services and Chairman of the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA):

In July 2003, I attended the American School Food Association Conference in Reno, Nevada. I attended in my role as the UK National Chairman of the Local Authority Caterers Association. LACA is the professional body for Local Authority Caterers and represents over 85% of the school caterers who provide catering to over five million pupils and school staff every day.

I discovered that in America over 80% of the school catering income is administered using an IT-based cashless system, whilst here in the UK less than 10% of the income is collected in this way.

I wonder how many parents know these people are taking all expenses paid trips to the US from their taxes?

[hagbard_celine]

Brilliant! I'm glad they've published this. I was interviewed for it along with Quester and several others. My own story is fairly similar to that Fionna's. The only difference is I luckily got wind of the scheme first and told the schoo, in advance not to take my daughter's fingerprints.

[brett]

They won't be taking my four daughter's prints, either!!

Although scarily, my other half doesn't think it's a problem!!

Then again - she does watch the X Factor and all the soaps....

[quester123]

I have a copy of todays Daily Mail newspaper version and am pleased to say that there is a big blue banner above the headlines on the very front page reading:

Why are schools taking children's fingerprints ?
Special investigation pages 41-41

During the interview with David Clouter from leavethemkidsalone.com (http://www.leavethemkidsalone.com/)on BBC Radio Leeds earlier this week, it came to light that at least a further ten schools in the Leeds area were already using biometrics in schools:eek:

[hagbard_celine]

I have a copy of todays Daily Mail newspaper version and am pleased to say that there is a big blue banner above the headlines on the very front page reading:

Why are schools taking children's fingerprints ?
Special investigation pages 41-41

During the interview with David Clouter from leavethemkidsalone.com (http://www.leavethemkidsalone.com/)on BBC Radio Leeds earlier this week, it came to light that at least a further ten schools in the Leeds area were already using biometrics in schools:eek:

Great! It made it into the paper.:) I'd given up hope and assumed it had been binned.

[joss classey]

i'm sure they'll end up finding a way of linking this to madeline

[malvern]

dondaz told me of this some time ago, so I checked it out, wrote letters to local government all over the country, under freedom of imfo act... dondaz has the letters... 100's of schools have been at it since the year 2000.. school meals, libary books and in some schools as a game for younger children..... nobody has the right to fuck with the children,,,,:mad:


freedom for all :)

[dondaz]

This pisses me off no end! That's all I'll say right now: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-4876807553043435597&q=darren+pollard&total=19&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
:mad:

[quester123]

i'm sure they'll end up finding a way of linking this to madeline

Interesting how you should mention this Joss! Todmorden have started to fingerprint children for school meals.

Heres another news article from the same area:
http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/Nursery-brings-in-fingerprint-security.3308668.jp


Nursery brings in fingerprint security for parents
By Brian Coates
PICKING up the kids could be a mission impossible for parents – unless they show a fingerprint match.
Providence Day Nursery, Elland, is the first in Calderdale to invest in the super-tough fingerprint security to maximise the children's safety.

The biometric technology was installed after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann heightened parents' fears.

Nursery owner Jane Erlank said security was vitally important and the new ID system reduced the risk of unwanted visitors getting into the building.

"We have not had a problem but there is concern by all parents, especially since Madeleine went missing," she said. "It is sad, but you can't be too careful."

The nursery registers the fingerprints of parents and people they nominate to pick up children. They are transferred on to
a machine, which recognises the prints when they are pressed on to a sensor pad.

Callers are also covered by videophone and unregistered visitors have to ring a bell and wait for a member of staff.

"Previously we had a PIN keyboard and a spy hole, which was outdated," said Mrs Erlank. "On a wet winter night it was hard to see who was out there, and anybody could look over someone's shoulder to get the PIN number."

UK Biometrics, who made the system, have been developing it for 10 years. It was frist used on Government and military buildings but now companies and nurseries are turning to fingerprint entry as the price lowers to become comparable to swipe-card systems."

Should all nurseries have fingerprint machines? Vote now in our online poll on the right.

Courier Comment
Last Updated: 08 October 2007 11:33 AM