Your Papers! Your Papers! YOUR LIBERTY!
The government seem determined to press ahead with the introduction of ID cards. This is despite recent reports suggesting the cost may be far beyond that initially forecast. The main thrust of the argument in favour of their introduction is that they will aid the war against terrorism and tackle identity fraud. Their ownership will be on a voluntary basis, but the recipient will have to pay for them.
Every type of document that is currently used to confirm identity can be forged. There is no doubt that forgeries will appear within days of the new ID cards being issued. Forgeries are often good enough to pass for the real thing except when viewed by an expert eye. The new ID cards will be presented to those without such knowledge in the vast majority of instances. Technology will be made available to process cards at the point of presentation. This will also be very expensive, and will be cost-prohibitive to smaller businesses for example.
The voluntary possession of ID cards would suggest that the owner is of good character. The assumption will be that criminals will not volunteer to reveal their identity to those they are attempting to defraud. Adversely, the person in possession of the card may be treated with less suspicion, so aiding any fraud to be conducted with a fake ID card.
The government has absolutely failed to make out the case for ID cards in relation to terrorism. This point does not need to be elaborated on.
Taking account of the above arguments, the introduction of ID cards with the related cost implications seems untenable. The only possible future for these cards is for their possession to become obligatory. A natural progression from this is for the cards to be produced on demand to a police officer. Failure to do so would have to be punishable under law. This would require a fundamental shift in the relationship between subject and state.
posted by World Weary Detective @ 6:35 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Personally I'd have no problem with having, carrying or producing on request an ID card. I've done nothing wrong. I agree on the forgery issue. The cost will prevent any large scale take up I suspect. Give it a few years and we'll all have to carry an EU ID card any way.
It is interesting to me that here, too, we are experiencing a similar push for ID Cards, though they are specifically (for now) targeting those individuals who cross the borders between the United States and Mexico, or Canada, or both.
As I'm sure you well know, most Americans don't bother ever applying for a passport (and not just because it costs about a hundred bucks, and far more if you expedite the process), because a relative few ever leave their home states, much less the country.
However, it's always been a liberal crossing policy between Canada and Mexico--all you really need is a driver's license. Most everything over here is done on the strength of a driver's license, and if you can't drive, individual states have always made a provision for a photo ID that a non-driving person can use as identification.
Anyway, most of the travelers between Mexico, the US, and Canada are up-in-arms for the same reasons: easy access to forgery, expense (about fifty dollars per card), and the continued shadow of looming governmental intrusion. Canadian and Mexican governments have also weighed in against the idea as well.
I'm interested to see how it will turn out, as I can easily envision everyone carrying a passport, a national ID, a driver's license (or state issued photo ID), credit card style birth certificate and Social Security Card...
I figure, then, it's about one step away from the announcement: "Oh my dear citizen, you carry far too much cumbersome documentation! Here, let us implant this MICROSOFT (tm) data chip into your forehead at birth, complete with all your vital stats (updated by satellite link, weekly) and personal GPS device--we'll know where you are, wherever you are! Convenience is yours, today!
Um. I'm sorry. I just hijacked your comments and ranted. Many apologies :-)
Did Charles Clarke not admit that ID cards would not have prevented the July '05 London bombings? So much for that justification then.
I'm tired of the "If you've done nothing wrong you have no reason to object to them" argument. I've done "nothing wrong" and I do object to them and I won't have one. When exactly did the presumption of innocence become the presumption of guilt?
Interesting points and not as far fetched as we might like it to be.
I've often pondered the worth of a bar code tattooed on the neck or forehead of criminals which displays pre-cons/personal details/bail conditions/wanted/missing/driver status etc., to a suitable reading device. Perhaps in overhead gantries/bridges (speed camera fashion).
Hand held devices are already available c/o check-outs at most retail stores.
Only one central computer needed to hold all of the data, and providing the bearer is not allowed to obscure the bar code, it could be read covertly or overtly.
Far fetched? I fear not.
Universal Soldier, you've done nothing wrong so what? That isn't what ID cards are about. The problem is that they do away with the presumption of innocence. You are presumed guilty until you prove otherwise.
They also change the relationship between the citizen and the State. Instead of the State protecting the citizen it suspects him/her.
The ID card proposed will inevitably be tied in to every database the State possesses and that will give it an apparatus of totalitarianism beyond the dreams of a Hitler or Stalin.
Just as well they're not making these cards voluntary then. No, wait, hang on...
http://www.no2id.net/IDSchemes/faq.php#13
Universal Soldier: you've done nothing wrong - under current law perhaps. Trouble is, by the time your freedom has been eroded to the point that you notice, it'll be too late to scrap your ID card.
The ID card falls down in the same way that most regulation does - it requires adherence to the law for it to work properly - and of course the criminal classes for renowned for their respect for the law. Just like the way Yardies and armed robbers respect gun laws.
Interesting! Confirms my own long-held view that these things will be one of the most expensive trojan horses in history.
I do feel that we need to fight to retain our right as British Citizens to pursue our normal lives - or simply stand there doing nothing - without having to tell anyone who we are or what we think.
I do get really seriously irritated by people who trot out the old, frayed, "Well, if you've done nothing wrong, you don't have to worry," line.
History has proved otherwise...
The people who benefit from ID cards are the companies making them, including the forgers. I wonder what influence these companies have in the Home Office? Are they just smooth-talking salesmen, or is there bribery involved? How else can you explain the obstinate pursuit of a scheme that nobody has asked for and which will use up billions that could have been spent on health or education?______A free country is one without ID cards.
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