News that the government has raced ahead with the introduction of facial recognition software at Manchester Airport has received mixed reviews with some praising the move and others concerned that it is untried and untested on a large scale. While the service is only currently available to those who have the new biometric passports it does offer the opportunity to cut waiting times and queues at some of the UK's busiest airports and hopefully spot undesirables and those on wanted lists throughout the world.
The move is part of the latest attempt by the government to introduce strict border controls to the UK and also count the number of people coming in and out of the country – a system which has been missing for many years.
However, while this system has worked in testing it has not been subjected to the numbers which it will now incur on a daily basis. The government also forget to tell us that not only will this system replace much of the man power employed by the border control services but it will not be available to the masses until 2014. As if to make matters worse the service is currently voluntary so there are still alternative routes for those banned from travelling, or even terrorist suspects, to slip through the system. |
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