Public warms to biometric technology

People are more in favour of biometrics than they were a year ago, but there is still confusion about the issue

Three-quarters of the UK public are more in favour of biometrics than they were one year ago, according to the TSSIBiometrics in Britain Study 2006.

Personal safety was identified as the biggest driver for the change; three quarters of people surveyed believed it was important for combating terrorism.

But there is widespread public confusion about what biometrics means in practice, with the majority of people confused about the terminology. In addition, concerns about civil liberties were highlighted by almost a third of respondents.

'I was astonished by the dramatic change in public opinion. Nearly eight in 10 people changing their opinion in the last year which is a huge increase and can only be attributable to the terrorist attacks. These have no doubt forced acceptance of biometrics upon the nation, but a positive campaign of education is needed to allay fears about its use,' said Danny Chapchal, chief executive of TSSI Systems.

Three quarters of people believed biometrics were essential or important for combating terrorism, with only 17 per cent viewing intelligence information as more important to fight terrorism than biometrics. Some 79 per cent of people were in favour or more accepting about the introduction of biometrics for any travel abroad.

A strong pattern of ambivalence was evident over usage of biometrics in everyday situations, such as in the rail, tube, retail and airline networks. People’s primary concern was for the safety of the individual, so that use of biometrics in airports received a resounding seal of approval. Nearly eight out of 10 (77 per cent) approved of its use, with only nine per cent actively against and the remaining respondents undecided.

Concerns about civil liberty infringements remain a pressing issue in the minds of a significant proportion of the population. Nearly a third (28 per cent) rejected the creation of a government biometric database - even if it led to better crime detection rates. While 54 per cent were convinced of its benefits, a further 18 per cent remained undecided and could join either camp with persuasion.

'The catastrophic delays and stringent measures after the thwarted terror attack on UK airlines in August 2006 appear to have pushed the British public towards applications of convenience. Would they rather stand in a security queue for hours at Heathrow, or be subjected to biometric checks and get through quickly to the shops? It seems people are now overwhelmingly opting for the latter,' said Chapchal.

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