Denver to use facial biometrics on drivers' licenses

Alfred Qaeda alqaeda at hq.org
Thu Jul 5 09:48:10 PDT 2001


Colo. to 'map' faces of drivers
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,11%257E57823,00.html

                   By Julia C. Martinez
                   Denver Post Capitol Bureau

                   Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - First it was the
photo-radar vans
                   snapping pictures of Denver-area speeders.

                   Now, some fear Big Brother's roving eye soon will be
watching all of
                   Colorado with the arrival of a new European import
called "face
                   recognition."

                   The Department of Motor Vehicles, in an effort to
prevent identity theft
                   and driver's license fraud, is buying cameras that
will map every
                   driver's facial characteristics like a
three-dimensional land chart.

                   The danger, critics say, is that the technology could
eventually be
                   expanded to monitor the comings and goings of
ordinary Coloradans.

                   This week, Tampa, Fla., became the first city in the
United States to
                   install similar high-tech security cameras on public
streets to scan
                   crowds in the city's nightlife district. Images will
be compared against
                   a database of mug shots of people with active
warrants.

                   "There is a danger," said Rep. Matt Smith, a Grand
Junction lawmaker
                   and attorney who serves on a statewide task force
studying the issue
                   of privacy. "The intended purpose of facial
recognition is to help the
                   state prevent the theft of identity. Now the question
is, "What will its
                   future use be?'

                   "There has to be a point where the government doesn't
have its nose
                   over every shoulder," he said.

                   Mug shots compared

                   Old driver's license photos will be scanned into a
computer database
                   using the new technology. Then, starting next July,
new mugs will be
                   compared with those on file to make sure people are
who they say
                   they are when they go to get, or renew, a Colorado
driver's license.

                   It doesn't matter if you gain 200 pounds and go bald
between
                   photographs. Short of plastic surgery, the camera
will recognize you.

                   "Facial recognition deals with spatial details, where
a nose is compared
                   with the eyes," said Dorothy Dalquist, spokeswoman
for the Colorado
                   Department of Revenue. "Baldness doesn't count, and
weight doesn't
                   either. It's the basic facial structure."

                   The state legislature authorized the technology
during the last session.
                   State officials won't disclose the cost of the system
until they meet
                   later this month with officials from Polaroid, one of
the companies
                   involved in making the system.

                   In the beginning, face recognition will be used to
try to prevent
                   criminals from obtaining multiple driver licenses
under others' names,
                   Dalquist said.

                   "We know of cases where individuals steal personal
information from
                   other people, forge documents and go to six or seven
driver license
                   offices getting licenses with their pictures and
other people's
                   identities. In theory, they have a legitimate
license, but in actuality,
                   they're not who they say they are," Dalquist said.
"Now, we will be
                   able to say after the first one, "No, you can't have
another one.'"

                   Or the police could be called in.

                   "My guess is if we saw something that is an egregious
misuse of the
                   system, we might alert law enforcement to that," she
said.

                   The cameras can't prevent the types of fraud that now
occur when
                   people make their own driver's licenses using home
computers and
                   the Internet. However, as part of the new program,
invisible markers
                   will be added to each new license so stores or banks
can scan the card
                   to see if it's genuine.

                   Privacy concerns

                   The technology has raised concerns about privacy,
ethics and
                   government intrusion. Privacy advocates are concerned
that a
                   database of photographs could itself spill into the
Orwellian realm.

                   "We all want to catch as many criminals as we
possibly can, but we
                   also have to be concerned about the privacy issues,"
said Sen. Ken
                   Gordon, D-Denver, a member of a state task force set
up to craft
                   legislation aimed at protecting privacy. "Information
obtained for one
                   purpose is sometimes used for reasons that were not
contemplated by
                   people who set up the system to begin with."

                   Gordon said Colorado already sells driver records to
insurance
                   companies for $5 million a year.

                   "If we're going to create a database of photographs
of every driver in
                   Colorado, will it be used only to protect against
criminals?" Gordon
                   asked. "Or will it be used for commercial purposes or
marketing or to
                   produce books of people's photos. We have to be
careful."

                   Colorado's new system could pave the way for expanded
use, say for
                   instance tapping into a criminal database and finding
out if someone
                   getting a driver license is a fugitive.

                   "I'm sure law enforcement would appreciate it
sometime in the
                   future," Dalquist said. "Right now, we're not hooking
into their data
                   process. We're trying to protect citizens against
identity fraud, and
                   businesses, too."

                   But some say this latest technology could continue to
grow into a
                   Tampa-like monitoring system.

                   Last month, Denver police used low-tech, hand-held
video cameras to
                   catch rowdy partygoers celebrating the Colorado
Avalanche's Stanley
                   Cup victory.

                   "We haven't discussed it," said Denver police Sgt.
Tony Lombard, "not
                   at this point."






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