Plods want your print
@ 1:29 pm Travelling especially to the USA got a bit more interesting now that all new passports should be biometric. When I heard first of this biometric thing I was wondering if they had a strip of my DNA there like in every half-decent sci-fi movie or at least a retinal scan like they have in every spy movie, but the “biometric data” is as boring as a mugshot, and starting later next year fingerprints.
Or are fingerprints boring? They’ve been used for over a hundred years in forensics to identify people, as fingerprints are unique to each person. You have every other crime movie out there having someone dusting for fingerprints, even in CSI they still do it though it requires super glue and and hot air. So its definitely something even your average joe on the street recognizes whats it for.
The Aamulehti today ripped a headline over the newly appointed Police Commissioner Mikko Paatero wanting to form a fingerprint registry of Finnish citizens. Within ten years all adult Finnish citizens would be fingerprinted as fingerprinting would be a prerequisite of getting a passport (and probably ID card as well) The reason given is that with the registry it would be impossible to use forged passports and of course it would enable the police to find out their perps quite effectively. The Data Protection Ombudsman Reijo Aarnio is all against the idea of establishing a national fingerprint register.
In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight. It was the police patrol, snooping into people’s windows. The patrols did not matter, however. Only the Thought Police mattered.
http://www.thelocal.se/12874/20080706/
A bit off topic but since we always want to bellyache about violence in Finland, this is pretty sad.
Three rapes on a car show in Sweden
Comment by chic sheik — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 2:17 pm
If they are going to do the biometric passport thing in Finland, then I guess that Immigration is going to have to do a better look at them instead of just seeing that the passport is Finnish and passing the holder through without ever opening it.
In the US, I saw some statistic that they have identified thousands of people that were either wanted or not permitted to enter the US. Also interesting is that they are checking people against INTERPOL’s database as well (and who know’s who else’s)
I am not sure Finland needs to fingerprint everyone. They don’t do that in the US. Unless your a criminal, the government doesn’t have your fingerprints, unless you get a security clearance, work in a bank, or end up in certain other jobs/military.
Comment by Fred Fry — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 3:01 pm
Finns better give the finger to the totalitarian agenda of Suomi
politicians that would institute another step in the direction of a police state,that wants to control Finns..just like the corrupt and evil old school Soviet Union…Putin the terrible ex-KGB tyrant has
planted messianic ideas of controlling the hopeless and helpless Finns… Tarja the clueless and Vanhanen wants to further assist
“old scruffy” Erkki Tuomioja in further erosion of Suomi
freedom and privacy!….SHAMEFULL…and Finns condemn ameriKKKa’s intrusion on JENKKI privacy!!!….
Proclaiming U S.of KKK-A.(tm reverend Jeremiah Wright) to be Fascist regime is hypocritical
Comment by infinndel the jenkki dogg — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 3:15 pm
Aw quit yer bitchin’. Chocolate rations are UP!
Comment by v.i.lenin — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 3:59 pm
I guess they shall have to add a new finger print scanner to their new toys already!
http://hbl.fi/text/inrikes/bilder_statisk.php?bilden0=../../bild/2008/7/8/l_b22286.png&
Comment by Jonas G — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 4:09 pm
#1 I love to read thelocal.se especially the discussion. I giggle myself silly about the whining of Sweden 1:1 what everybody whines about Finland… “Swedish language is so difficult”
Comment by Hank W. — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
Another freedom taken away. Sad. Can one say water baording is next? For those who do not comply.
Comment by Anonymous — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 6:19 pm
Sorry, that was me
Comment by “Yea, Proton Power, now in remission” — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 6:24 pm
Henry Majander sucks!
Henry Majander sucks!
Henry Majander sucks!
Comment by Henry_Majander_Sucks — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 8:18 pm
Stupid hackers are the salt of Finland.
Comment by Hank W. — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
I much prefer pepper anyways.
Comment by Jay — Wed, Jul 9th, 2008 @ 11:55 pm
I thought you had hot chili in the USA
Comment by Hank W. — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 12:13 am
It figures that Finland would implement fingerprinting in some strange way that robs everyone of their privacy. Naturally, Finns say nothing against it. What a fucking shit hole that country is.
Comment by Finns are bizarre sheep — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 7:34 am
How nice. First we have this global war on terror or whatever and everyone is required to have biometric passports and their bodily proportions registered. After this, the police is not allowed to use the registry to solve crimes. Why then have this registry in the first place? Just another administrative Kankkula’s well created.
For the clarification, I think the commissioner should resign and apply for a corresponding position in Uzbekistan, Singapore or some other damn beacon of freedom and human rights. His regular customers will submit their fingerprints sooner or later anyway. He does nothing with a registry full of honest people.
Comment by Antti rn — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 10:26 am
Whatever makes us safer -
No worries,
At least in Finland I can be sure the purposes are honnest and they wont missuse my info -
I have nothing to hide.. they can have my fingerprints -
Comment by Maid'n — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 10:43 am
#16: I sincerely hope that was sarcasm.
Comment by Freeridin' Franklin — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
Well, they can publish your tax and income info publicly so what’s the BFD about taking your fingerprint?
Nice Orwellian quote, Hank.
Comment by hfb — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 9:02 pm
“At least in Finland I can be sure the purposes are honnest and they wont missuse my info ”
“they can publish your tax and income info”
Uh huh. More proof that Finns deserve to lose what little freedom they now have.
Comment by Libertaer — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
Well, the Swedes are already tapping the phones…
Comment by Hank W. — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 11:02 pm
Finns and Swedes are similar in that they unquestioningly trust the corrupt sacks of shit that comprise their respective governments. What a bunch of fools lol
Comment by Seppo — Thu, Jul 10th, 2008 @ 11:58 pm
I love the Swedes, except we sent a club gitmo retired terrorist there, and they rejected him……Why???? He had the fun water torture experience, and could have helped the swedish police use it.
Comment by winter “Yea, Proton Power, now in remission” — Fri, Jul 11th, 2008 @ 12:22 am
While there are many good reasons to fingerprint people, I’m not really sure that a national fingerprint register is that smart of an idea. It sounds like going too far to me, lots of work being used to acquire information that is not really necessary.
Comment by Helsinkian — Fri, Jul 11th, 2008 @ 2:14 pm
“Work being used to acquire info” that could have been gotten the easy way (Waterboard them).
Comment by Winter “Yea, Proton Power, now in remission” — Fri, Jul 11th, 2008 @ 5:22 pm
Yes, fingerprints are boring. Plus, fingerprint technology is already well-established. It benefits traditional sectors of the “old” economy. Forensics work is not driving economic growth and creating spinoffs. It just linearly increases sales of talcum powder, graphite dust and Scotch tape, inkpads, moist towelettes for cleaning smudges, and the like. Boring — you said it.
Advanced biometrics, on the other hand, now that’s a gateway to development. If you’re going to scan someone’s irises, you’re going to need more than a print scanner and access account to FBI database. You’ll want to buy powerful advanced optics. And special software, perhaps from a big Israeli security tech firm, to compensate for terrorists wearing colored contact lenses, and anything else that the evil ones come up with. But this is great for the tech sector. And since US officials probably hold stock in the companies, this is good for America, too.
In a couple years, when genome and brain scans replace today’s soon-to-be introduced, defunct biometric systems, we can really bring the medical tech sector on board and stimulate growths there.
Comment by Kris — Sun, Jul 13th, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
Growth, I mean.
Comment by Kris — Sun, Jul 13th, 2008 @ 4:40 pm
Way to much Star Trek stuff here Kris,, or should I just say “Beam me up???????”
Wait, lets just implant tracking devices on everyone…wait Nokia did that with their cell phones already… Gee am I behind the times.
Comment by winter “Yea, Proton Power, now in remission” — Sun, Jul 13th, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
Oh sure, belittle Kris’s ideas about homeland security as science fiction. A tried and true liberal tactic.
Comment by John — Tue, Jul 15th, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
Funny thing is, no one has mentioned that the whole system would be USELESS. Fingerprint registries work because the sample size is small. With a national database the probability of getting a match on pure chance alone approaches one. This is why you usually need compelling evidence in the US in order to get a DNA sample first, in order to make the sample size (i.e. the pool of suspects) small enough to decrease the likelihood that a match is due to chance alone.
Either this is gross incompetency on behalf of the police (maybe they’re just too lazy to actually do any investigative work), or just another planned step towards a control state. We’ve been heading that way for a few years and things like this push that agenda forward at a frightening speed.
Comment by Anonymous — Wed, Jul 16th, 2008 @ 7:52 pm