Biometrics: Practical and Effective Uses for Law Enforcement and Security Organizations

Approaching the immigration counters at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia you are required by the immigration officer to not only provide your passport, but also a fingerprint scan as well as stand for a personal photograph. At times the approach lines are long and the process seems tedious as you wonder what the information will be used for and who will have access to it. Collection of your personal identification characteristics by technical means might seem intrusive and a bit futuristic but it has increasingly become a part of our everyday lives. Biometric information is that unique part of a person that distinguishes them from all others. People can change their names, addresses, telephone numbers and identification documents but cannot change their collective biometric identity.