1.2 Activty 15 Invesatigate the Pros and Cons of ID Cards

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3127696.stm
The Scheme:
ID cards are wanted to be brought in and would be linked to the national database and will be capable of strong alot of information on each person. These would be linked through keys such as the national insurance number, driver's licence, NHS number etc. The propasal ID register is intented to be the foundation of indentity management in the UK in the coming years. The card would have a biometric signature, i.e a digital version of a thumbprint, retinal print or some other unique characteristic. These cards would help prevent fraud although it would allow police and other officals to have potentially lots of information on you.
The ICT involved to set these cards up would be large as you need a database to store the information and it would be an expensive project because the technolgy of thumbprints and retinal print to be stored electronical for the whole country is going to also take its time. The purpose of the card is to be able to cut down on fraud as it would have everybody's details. I think that the card could meets it's purpose but it depend's how the system is goign to be put into place because it could have faults and get the wrong person and accuse innocent people of a crime that they did not commit.
The advantages are that if something happens to you your detail can be collected as if it is made compulsory for you to have people can find out who you are if you have an accident. It also can be used as ID in shops and you can use it so that information can be found out about you to prove that it isn't you. Although the drawbacks are that the information is going to be stored meaning that certain people will have acces to it at all times. The disadvantage are that as so much information is kept in the card if which would cause problems if the card is stolen indentity fraud could take place as you may not be able to retrive the card.
I think the ID cards should be in place but they should not be stored nationally rather in county's so that the whole country services can't access you information and it can be transferred and can be sent in email asking if certain pieces of information match then transferred. It should also be encripted infromation that only machines can read it so if it is stolen it is harder for fraud to be comitted.