FBI dedicates $1 billion to massive biometrics identification program | The Raw Story

Image via WikipediaGet ready folks. Seems that WE THE PEOPLE no longer have a say in any of this.Criminal background or not. This is invasion of ALL Privacy and should not be in the hands of any Government. Yet here it comes.
Imagine doing no harm or having a bad background. Then a computer glicth hits the system. (Which happens everyday) And your name pops up as a wanted fellon. You go to prision, Why? Because the computer says so. That's what this system is. And again very easliy hacked. Because it is digital. All digital computers are easily hacked.
This is what we call no more Freedom.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/24/fbi-dedicates-1-billion-to-massive-biometrics-identification-program

The Federal Bureau of Investigations announced recently that it is dedicating up to $1 billion for a Lockheed Martin-developed system that will enable on-the-fly analysis of detailed identification information that can be instantaneously shared with law enforcement all around the world.
It's called the "Next Generation Identification System" (NGIS), and if you're a fan of television dramas like the CBS crime drama NCIS, it may sound pretty familiar.
The FBI says their forthcoming system is an "incremental" upgrade to their currently-existing "Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System" (IAFIS), but it's more than just an upgrade: it's a revolution in law enforcement technology that's bound to draw comparisons to the "Total Information Awareness" (TIA) project Congress ostensibly shut down in 2004.
The TIA project, however, was broader in scope, targeting private individuals all over the world instead of just suspected criminals or terrorists.
While the initial stage of NGIS deals solely with fingerprints, the FBI said it will eventually upscale to include detailed biometrics like retina prints, facial mapping, palm prints, voice mapping and handwriting analysis, among other likely sources of data.
"[NGIS] represents a quantum leap in fingerprint identification that will help us in solving investigations, preventing crime, and apprehending criminals and terrorists," an agency spokesman announced earlier this month.
One aspect of the program that's likely to draw a sharp reacting from civil liberties advocates is the provision of electronic fingerprint scanners to state and local police agencies.

The FBI says these scanners will be used to collect biometric data from "suspects," as opposed to those convicted of crimes. That data would then be sent wirelessly to the NGIS, where it can be accessed by law enforcement anywhere.
A sub-database, called the "Repository for Individuals of Special Concern," will also be created to track wanted criminals, registered sex offenders and "suspected terrorists."
That's another facet of the project which may give civil liberties advocates even more cause for alarm, considering the Obama administration's recent revisions to how Americans suspected of terrorism should be treated by law enforcement.

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