Report - Guardian

182 The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005organisational procedures and infrastructure do not create disadvantage to people with adisability.The possible use of iris scanning is one of the principal concerns with the Identity CardsBill. There is a threat that this technique may inherently discriminate against peoplewith visual impairment.The available literature indicates that blind and partially sighted people may be unableto use such systems, may generate unstable or unusable biometric data, or may sufferdisproportionate disadvantage in using such systems. The research indicates thatbecause of a deteriorating or unstable sight condition many blind or partially sightedpeople will either not be able to provide iris recognition data on enrolment or willsubsequently provide an altered reading during routine checks or renewal. The Billprovides for the imposition of a variety of penalties and offences that may unfairlyapply to blind and visually impaired people who in good faith use iris systems, but areunable to provide data that is accurate or consistent.The Significance of the UK Passport Service TrialThese other studies provide an insight into the results of the UKPS trial. After manydelays, the report of the trials was released in May 2005. 455 Despite the need for a trialof the actual biometrics and their use, the UKPS Biometric Enrolment Trial was more ofa customer response test:”The goal of the UKPS Biometrics Enrolment Trial was to test theprocesses and record customer experience and attitude during therecording and verification of facial, iris and fingerprint biometrics,rather than test or develop the biometric technology itself – it was nota technology trial.” 456While this is a disappointment considering the time and effort that went into the trial, anumber of conclusions can still be drawn from the report.The trial involved 10,016 individuals from a variety of sample groups including a quotagroup of 2000 and 750 disabled participants. The trial databases were pre-loaded with118,000 irises and 1 million fingerprints.Enrolment SuccessWhile the report claims that ‘the majority of participants in all sample groupssuccessfully enrolled’, there are significant gaps:- On facial recognition, success rate for the non-disabled was 100%, though 98%for disabled participants. Ten percent of all disabled participants could not beregistered on the first try, while the average for all other participants was 4%.Black paricipants suffered the highest failure rate.455 ‘UK Passport Service Biometrics Enrolment Trial’, Atos Origin, May 2005.456 Ibid., p.6.