Mexican City Tracks Public With Iris Scanners
10:47am UK, Friday August 20, 2010

Kat Higgins, Sky News Online

Public iris-scanning technology has turned a city in Mexico into a real-life version of the futuristic Tom Cruise film Minority Report.

The government wants to cut crime in the Mexican city of Leon
The government in Leon, in Guanajuato state, is aiming to create the most secure city in the world.
The country's sixth largest city has introduced scanners which can identify up to 50 people a minute without requiring them to stop and stand in front of them.
The devices, made by US biometrics firm Global Rainmakers Inc, have been installed in a range of public places including train stations, shopping centres, medical centres and banks.
The information gathered is sent to a central database that can then, in Big Brother-style, track people's movements across the city.
In the 2002 movie Minority Report, director Steven Spielberg shows Tom Cruise's character walking through a shopping centre, repeatedly being identifed by public iris scanning devices which then target him for personalised advertisements.
Global Rainmakers claims iris recognition is the only biometric technology suited for one-to-many identification which can be used in a population of millions or of even a billion people.
City officials hope the scanners will reduce crime and help police identify and catch criminals.
Jeff Carter of Global Rainmakers said: "If you've been convicted of a crime, in essence, this will act as a digital scarlet letter. If you're a known shoplifter, for example, you won't be able to go into a store without being flagged. Certainly for others, boarding a plane will be impossible."
And Mr Carter hopes other cities and countries will follow Leon's lead: "In the future, whether it's entering your home, opening your car, entering your workspace, getting a pharmacy prescription refilled, or having your medical records pulled up, everything will come off that unique key that is your iris.
"Every person, place, and thing on this planet will be connected within the next 10 years."

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