ABSTRACT
The September 11, 2001, attacks on New York’s World Trade Center brought focus on the need to identify potential terrorists or other threatening individuals before they have a chance to strike. The surveillance camera shots of Mohamed Atta and other hijackers as they passed through airport security gave rise to calls for the use of facial scanning to help reduce the chances of known terrorists gaining access to airplanes and other public venues. Biometrics, the science of measuring biological data, is being touted as a powerful tool in crime prevention. Biometrics includes the measurement of fingerprints, facial features, voice patterns, and characteristics of the iris of the eye. Interest in biometrics was high before the World Trade Center attacks, but those events resulted in far greater demand. Currently, the technology for face recognition is effective enough to survey public places and compare faces to existing databases, such as terrorist watch lists. Facial recognition technology could be used in airports, at public buildings and attractions, and at large gatherings such as sporting events or political meetings. According to Brad Grimes (2003), facial recognition cameras were used at the 2001 Super Bowl, comparing faces of fans with a database of mug shots. Grimes also pointed to the increased use of fingerprint recognition by businesses, including American Express at their New York headquarters. As a result, he mused, passwords and ID cards may become passé as biometrics becomes the preferred means of identifying people and granting access to events, buildings, and computer terminals.
