Who exactly supplies schools with biometric databases?

Think again when you are told that school biometric systems cannot exchange information or be compatible with other databases or that no one else has access to your child's biometric data. 

Northrop Grunman, a leading global security company that runs the UK Police fingerprint and DNA database and "works with governments, the Armed Forces, civil agencies and private sector companies around the world" also supplies biometric systems for children in schools. 

"AD&S provides biometric machines for companies ranging from defense contractors like Northrop Grumman Corp. to a small Atlanta airliner to more than 40 schools districts."  Mississippi Business Journal 14 June 2013

It is of no matter that this story comes from the US. Our UK government has no idea of the biometric technology used in UK schools, how secure it is or who supplies it. No checks are carried out at all, we know this through Freedom of Information requests.

So when you are asked for written consent for a school to store and process your child's fingerprint identifier (this becomes law in September 2013 in the UK) just bear in mind what you are giving up and to whom you may giving it to.  

Oh yes, we do have a Data Protection Act but we also have a situation where potentially police may have access to your child's biometric data too in UK schools - without parents knowledge.  There are protocols to follow I'm sure but here in the UK we do not have a great track record on storing data we do not need and then being fair in destroying it.  We only have to look at the UK Police National DNA database IDENT1 for that. 

"The DNA of thousands of innocent children is being taken by police and stored on the national database, campaigners say on Monday, citing new figures.  Police have taken the DNA of 120,000 children in the last two years" The Guardian 20th May 2013

School upsets parents by fingerprinting their kids

More than 700 students were fingerprinted last week by the Clinton County School District and some parents aren't happy. Parents learned about the fingerprinting only after it happened.

Unbelievable! Seems that the school authorities in the UK and USA are simply not grasping that before they go finger scanning, storing and recording our kids biometric data they must communicate with us on this or risk alienating the parent population . Some parents, in the UK, were so angered by this they went to the police.

Misinformation and no consent - still!

Again and again the same old cr*p is spouted by schools to parents about it's not a fingerprint that's taken so don't worry.

Obviously they have not done their research and believe whatever spiel the biometric sales persons are giving them. Here's what Education Bradford say about Junior Librarian, which according to them, is recommended by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

"Publicity material from the manufacturers states: "No image of the fingerprint itself is ever stored and the unique number that is generated during registration can never be used to recreate an image of the original scan.""

These biometric readers have not been scrutinized by the government, as Jim Knight MP admits himself, or any independent experts here in the UK [unless any of the biometric vendors can inform otherwise or offer a system for scrutiny] - however the above statement, by Junior Librarian, can be challenged as US universities have reverse engineered fingerprints from such systems.

Along the line somewhere the complete truth isn't being aired.

On top of the misinformation given to parents, and despite advice from the government and the Information Commissioner on the practice of using biometric technology with children, schools are still taking biometric fingerprints from children without informing parents.

Parents, in Keithley, when the school had taken childrens biometric fingerprints without consent were concerned enough to contact the police and Ofsted.

Little Lever School, Bolton and Long Lee School, Keithley are the recent culprits have committed the two offences of giving misleading information and not consulting parents.

So the recent government advice is working well then...

Police able to access primary school fingerprint system

The Highland News reports that Drakies Primary School in Inverness, Scotland, has spent £1000 on fingerprint scanners for their school library.

The below comment is, as far as I know, the first mention in the media of police having accessing school fingerprint databases. Police can use children's biometric databases in England and Wales without informing parents. It does state here that the police have to get permission from the school and parents, Scottish law is different to English and Welsh law so this may well be the case in Scotland - but not in England and Wales (see questions 50 and 51).

... a spokeswoman for the National Policing Improvement Agency said: "If the police have reason to suspect a child has committed a crime then as part of their investigation with permission of the school and the parent, the police can request access to the data if they have reason to believe it will help them with their investigation."

There is no relevance to the argument that fingerprints aren't stored - a biometric identifier is stored which carries the exact same implications as if a fingerprint was stored.