Privacy concerns with FAST?

[brianko]

My fingerprint card made by the local PD was rejected by DPS. So now I'm contemplating going the FAST route. Does anybody know what kind of privacy agreements L-1 Identity Solutions have made with the state in terms of keeping fingerprint data private? One sure thing about a fingerprint card: You get the only copy (for a renewal), and pass that on directly to DPS, so you know there isn't an extra copy out there somewhere. I'm a bit wary of offering up biometric data to a publicly-traded company.

Then again, maybe I'm the only person around here who stays up late thinking about these things, and that I should probably just "go with the flow" and stop resisting the status quo...

[Liberty]

My fingerprint card made by the local PD was rejected by DPS. So now I'm contemplating going the FAST route. Does anybody know what kind of privacy agreements L-1 Identity Solutions have made with the state in terms of keeping fingerprint data private? One sure thing about a fingerprint card: You get the only copy (for a renewal), and pass that on directly to DPS, so you know there isn't an extra copy out there somewhere. I'm a bit wary of offering up biometric data to a publicly-traded company.

Then again, maybe I'm the only person around here who stays up late thinking about these things, and that I should probably just "go with the flow" and stop resisting the status quo...

What bugs me about FAST is that we have booked criminals and handle government security based on the old card system for generations, and now this FAST is being pushed on us. It looks like a political payoff off to me. Are we sending criminals to get FASTed ? WHy are the police prints good enough for the FBI yet they claim its not good enough for law abiding citizens. Follow the money.

[ErnieP]

Many law enforcement agencies are using electronic fingerprint collection today, and for the same reasons. First, the reply is very fast. Second, the quality is much better. If the screen of the print is not acceptable, the computer will alert the technician immediately to re-scan. From a taxpayer standpoint, outsourcing the scan saves tax dollars.....and is probably more efficient.

[boomerang]

What bugs me about FAST is that we have booked criminals and handle government security based on the old card system for generations, and now this FAST is being pushed on us. It looks like a political payoff off to me. Are we sending criminals to get FASTed ? WHy are the police prints good enough for the FBI yet they claim its not good enough for law abiding citizens. Follow the money.

Some law enforcement agencies are doing electronic prints in house. I think HCSO is one.

If you apply for a Florida CWoFL they have a long list of sheriff's offices that do LiveScan.

[tbranch]

From a taxpayer standpoint, outsourcing the scan saves tax dollars.....and is probably more efficient.

Texas decided to print all real estate agents in 2008. New agents are printed before being licensed and the existing 120k agents will be printed on their next renewal (over the next 2 years). Texas is using FAST and there have been few issues. Even better for the State is we're paying for FAST services. Having done it both ways over the years, I actually thought the FAST system was better than ink on cards.

As for privacy concerns, the FAST system is probably a vulnerability.

Tom

[brianko]

According to IBT, all fingerprint data is deleted at the end of the day, and no record is kept. If you go back for a reprint, you have to go through the process again.

I must admit, the technology is rather cool. The software ranks the quality of your fingerprints on a scale of 0 - 100. The person who did mine would settle for nothing less than a 95, and redid several prints until they were "just right." She even offered an extra print card to me in case the one I send to DPS gets waylaid.

All in all, not a bad experience. We'll see how accurate all this really is...