Dear ronsteele-ga
The main reason is that governments in the past have not been
convinced there was the case for the expenditure that it would
involve. Now terrorism is affecting their decision making. As an
example, the British government are now considering their position and
thinking of creating a 'smart card' passport.
Originally passports were only used as identification in travelling,
but now, certainly in the UK, the passport is used as identification
for opening bank accounts and hiring equipment. Therefore the passport
as a means of identification is entering everday use. As a result,
reliability is paramount.
Unfortunatly, however good a document is, a criminal will try a forge
it. The British passport has been improved several times but it can
still be altered, the photograph changed, and an entirely new one
printed.
The idea of fingerprints on the passport seems like a good one until
you read these articles from the BBC. The British government have
annouced a plan to put fingerprints on the passport. However, the last
article shows how easy it is the forge the fingerprints with common
household ingredients and this has challenged their plan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1833939.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1832802.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1991517.stm
These articles should answer your question. If you need any
clarification please ask.
answerfinder-ga |
