The subject title may be considered extreme, but is is an example of why I take whatever opportunity may present itself to argue against the ID Card regime.
Sadly, whenever a little power is handed out, there will always prove to be some only to keen to move its use to the level of abuse, and and the atmosphere of paranoia being fostered by the authorities that there is a Terrorist War being waged on our streets is ripe for exploitation.
The current example is so blatant that even the politicians have taken notice of the abuse demonstrated.
Scotland's justice secretary has expressed deep concern at the number of people and vehicles searched by British Transport Police in Scotland. More than 14,000 have been stopped and searched at train stations since July. Kenny MacAskill told BBC Scotland he had anecdotal evidence that people going about their business had been "pulled aside and interrogated". The authorities said the searches were carried out to make an attack on the railways as difficult as possible. The stop and search powers had rarely been used before the terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport in June and, of those stopped at train stations, 12% were from ethnic minorities. But the transport police, who are the responsibility of the UK government, said all searches were random.
Transport officers stopped 9,994 people and searched 4,636 vehicles at train stations across Scotland between 1 July and 14 December, according to the official figures. They can do so at random, under anti-terrorism legislation.
By contrast, Scotland's eight police forces have stopped and searched just 84 people and 51 vehicles between them in 2007.
Mr MacAskill told BBC Scotland's Politics Show: "I think you have to get the balance right and it would certainly appear to me that things are out of kilter." "Whether your forefathers fought at the Battle of Bannockburn or whether they've come from the Indian sub-continent, or south of the border, if you're behaving by the law, you're entitled to be treated with respect - not to be routinely stopped, harassed, and investigated. The justice secretary went on: "I've certainly had anecdotal evidence, including members of staff, of people going about their work, being pulled aside and interrogated. That seems to me to be unacceptable."
"14,000 searches, not over the space of a year. That was since July. It's a period of approximately four months [and] is something that deeply, deeply troubles me."
In 2006/07, British Transport Police officers carried out 30,000 stops throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
The one thing that appears to be lacking is any meaningful result from British Transport Police as to what these 30,000 stops achieved, other than to show them up as some sort of private, self-appointed security force, out to demonstrate the effect of 'we can so we will', regardless of of whether or not it achieves anything.
I wonder if everyone had an ID Card and therefore a verifiable identity the stop and searches may have taken less time and therefore let the punters get on their way more quickly?
Er... ID Cards give you verifiable cards, not identities.
Despite the best efforts of the Germans, hundreds of Allied pilots were transported across Europe by various organisations, and returned to Britain to fly again. They all needed forged identity papers and travel documents to some degree, and these were produced in varying degrees of quality and effectiveness, however the point is that the Germans were no fools when it came to creating 'unforgeable' documents using the technology of the time, yet these document were effectively produced in little back rooms, under less than ideal conditions, and they worked.
We've already seen millions of £ being stolen by schemes which have used the supposedly secure Chip and PIN system in the commercial sector.
There is absolutely no reason to suppose that the crazy ID Card will be any more secure, and the Governement has already shown on multiple occasions (they've released drivers' records from DVLA, they just did the 25 million records on two CDs thing, and there was another, similar loss of CD with personal data quietly slipped into the news recently) that it is not to be trusted with the security of people's information and data. Today's backrooms have the same technology now as the forger of World War II had, and forging ID Cards will be become a service available for a fee.
Punters being stopped by BTP would still need to be hauled backed to base to have their cards scanned and checked against the National Database, and then have the resulting personal details verifiied to prove they were the persons the cards said they were, so there's no time saving with ID cards, unless they're not actually used for what they are supposed to to.
"...hundreds of Allied pilots were transported across Europe by various organisations, and returned to Britain to fly again. "
Appolo's claim here is of course perfectly true, but within the context of its use, it tells only a part of the story. Hundreds of Allied aircrew may well have returned to the UK having used forged documents, but how many tried, and failed, to make their way back to the UK? This is a significant consideration.
"hundreds" might be a mere .0005% of the number of aircrew who succeeded in their quest to escape. How many were prevented from escaping because of the need to prove one's identity? The use of "hundreds" in fact, informs us of very little involving the failure or success of an ID programme.
Identity cards are not full-proof, but I think they are still of considerable use. This is not to suggest there is no problem such as those pointed out in previous postings on this thread, but surely a sound education scheme for those types guilty of abusing their powers could result in an improvement.
All I can come up with right now is the use to which an ID card could be put in attempting to curb illegal immigration. This might not be an issue in the U.K., but it certainly is over here. I suppose too, in Ontario here, it could serve as identification for patients attempting to make use of the province-run health services. I admit we already have a medical ID, photo included, but if a nation-wide ID scheme were adopted, then the provinial health ID could be discontinued. Then again, might an ID card come in useful when people are applying for jobs in an area where illegal immigration is rampant. Right now in the U.S. for example, their millions of illegal immigrants can go to work without proving they are American citizens or making use of the "green card" system.
I've just turned the news on to see that the Governement has lost yet another batch of personal data, this time they've allowed a hard drive to be lost in America, or as they say 'mislaid'.
ID Cards will curb illegal immigration? How? Illegal immigrants are by definition illegal and have no documents anyway. They enter the country illegally, using forged documents, or bypass official routes.
We already have a National Health Service here, with an ID system personally identifying everyone - what's the point of an ID Card for something already in place (and that has cost a fortune too - that was a waste of money on the NHS computerisation, which is legend here for failing already, let alone trying to be lumped in with an ID Card).
Repeat of the illegal immigrant point above, but for jobs? Given that the country is rife with illegal workers despite the present legislation, and it appears that the US and UK are similarly operating completely ineffective immigrant worker controls - a few weeks ago, some Government spokesperson admitted that the reality was now that the TRUE number was something like 3 or 4 times the presently accepted number of illegal workers in the community, and that if the rules were enforced strictly tomorrow, the country would collapse. It all forgets, or conveniently ignores, the simple fact that those that it is aimed at won't bother to have them, and don't exist in current system because they've never registered in it, and don't want to. As for terrorists, well, if you were one, would you register yourself, or do so honestly if you did?
These are tired old pro-ID Card myths trotted out whenever anyone says "ID Cards, why?".
None of them hold any credibility if questioned an thought through to the reality of what they would actually achieve in the real world, other than to provide a snooper's charter, a 'Look at the good thing we're doing' soundbite for the Government/authorities, and employment and justification for the existence of the people in the industry, and their backers.
The taxpayers, the saps that pay for the scheme, and get lumbered with it, will get the benefits of... of... er... um... Nope, sorry, I'll have to get back to you on that sometime... later... maybe...
There's another one, they lost a load of details from Northern Ireland recently, and the news report was too quick in its summary for me to notice the fourth recent loss it reported.
The Government in this country can't even follow its own rules for Data Protection and Integrity that it hits business owners over the head with, and threatens to fine them and see them in court should they fail to operate in accordance with them!
What a farce, and they want to put ALL our data into one big National Identity database (naughty).
A remarkable coincidence today, one of my favourite series is The Rockford Files, where James Garner plays easy-going private detective Jim Rockford, who never seem to get an even break.
Although I didn't have the opportunity to watch today's episode (The House on Willis Avenue) in full, and missed yesterday's (which was the first of the two-part episode), I did catch the end, which showed that the computerised identity system, and theft of personal date there from is nothing new, and was advanced enough to form the the plot even back in the 1978s. This two-parter originally appeared a made-for-TV movie at the time.
However, the relevant part was the plot, in which a major organisation had created a huge, underground computer complex (well seeing this was before the PC arrived!) and was going to use it harvest the population's details for its own uses - all without their knowledge and permission, and was quite happy to murder anyone they found snooping.
Unusually, for a fictional TV series, the programme ended with a still frame providing a warning message to the viewers, to the effect that in reality, the personal details of over 200 million people were already being acquired and stored on computer by private organisation without either their permission or knowledge, and that the number was growing.
I didn't get a chance to read to the end, so don't know what the punchline was, so can only guess it was a warning to the effect that if they didn't do something about it, it would continue unchecked.
The Government doesn't seem to be able to understand the principle that they are supposed to demonstrating their fitness to hold our information securely.
In response to yet another loss of our personal data (and how many losses does that imply have been hushed up?), their response is an assurance that the data has not fallen into the wrong hands.
Excuse my while I check the buttons up my back, but if you don't know where you put the data for even a few minutes, then how can you categorically state that it hasn't arrived in the wrong hands?
Nine NHS trusts in England have admitted losing patient records in a fresh case of wholesale data loss by government services, it has emerged. Hundreds of thousands of adults and children are thought to be affected by the breaches, which emerged as part of a government-wide data security review. The Department of Health says patients have been told and there is no evidence data has fallen into the wrong hands. It follows losses of millions of child benefit claimant and driver details. The Sunday Mirror reports that one of the breaches was thought to involve the loss of names and addresses of 160,000 children by City and Hackney Primary Care Trust, after a disc failed to arrive at an east London hospital.
I think it's the tip of the iceberg, actually, because there's such carelessness within the NHS Joyce Robins Patient Care
Another, lost by Gloucester Partnership Foundation Trust, consisted of archive records relating to patients treated 40 years ago - none of whom is still alive. The details of what data has been lost by the other trusts have not been disclosed. The other trusts involved are Bolton Royal Hospital, Sutton and Merton PCT, Sefton Merseyside PCT, Mid-Essex Care Trust, and Norfolk and Norwich. The East and North Hertfordshire Trust reported a loss but has since found its missing data. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has reported two breaches - meaning that 10 cases have occurred in total.
'Scandal'
The Department of Health said the security breaches were being dealt with locally, and it did not have details of how many patients were affected. It said investigations were under way, and action would be taken against anyone who had failed to fulfil their responsibilities under data protection laws. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "You have to wonder why on earth it took the Revenue and Customs to lose their discs and for government to institute an inquiry across government for these losses of data to come to light. "It does feel like there's a sense in government, all parts of government, that we're required to provide data and we are constantly told that it will be protected, but in reality that level of protection simply isn't there." ...
Returning to the detail of the original item which began this thread, I suppose, sadly, it was only a matter of time before the Race Card was played.
An Asian MP in Glasgow has claimed that BTP are are being heavy-handed, and targeting Asian with their Stop and Search Powers.
A BTP spokesman said no complaints had been received from any members of the public regarding their searches, and that representatives of the Muslim Council of Scotland had met with officers, and been offered the opportunity to accompany patrols.
Is that discrimination? Do non-Muslims get the same offer? (I don't know, I'm asking).
MSP Bashir Ahmad, SNP, said he was concerned that the police constabularies across Scotland had made good progress with Muslim communities since the Glasgow Airport incident of June 30, and that he feared it would be undone by the disproportionate stopping and searching of ethnic minorities by BTP.
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