MORIS biometric scanner for police might cause facial profiling

Our boys in blue might get their hands on a new gadget this fall – where this weapon will remain holstered on their belts until it is needed. Coming in the form of a tiny attachment, it will transform any iPhone into a high tech biometric scanner. Basically, this iPhone peripheral will let officers scan a suspect’s irises or face, or even his fingerprints, identifying the suspect in the process swiftly without having to refer back to headquarters or another database back at the office. Of course, this has raised concerns with privacy advocates, but as you know, the price for freedom is eternal vigilance – how much of a price is the public willing to pay?

According to B12 Technologies, the company behind the device, it takes but seconds to determine the person the biometric scanner scans. As we all know, technology does make mistakes at times no matter how rare the occurence is, so could we smell lawsuits against law enforcement agencies in the future for wrongful arrest?

Known as the Mobile Offender Recognition and Information System (MORIS), it will not save any of the photos, but it will be able to stash it away in the cache long enough to determine whether the suspect’s iris matches data in the national database. It must be said that the iris of each person is more unique than a fingerprint, hence its use here. Each MORIS will cost around $3,000, so equipping the whole force with it will definitely be an expensive endeavor, what more with the government clamping down on spending across all sectors.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: scanner