to not want my kids to be fingerprinted?

[BAFE]

Next year the secondary school are bringing in a fingerprint systems for school lunches and the school library.

I feel really uneasy about this. Can I refuse?

I disagree with those saying the fingerprints can't be used outside of the school system - but purely without specific knowledge on the subject. However I would think that most finger print computer software would digitalise the print image. So of course this information could potentially be shared. They may not be doing it now, but soon enought they will and when they are ready they can suck in all the data from various sources.

I don't object to the DNA database BTW, however I think that this kind of processing of personal ID (which is becoming increasingly inevitable) should be something that children are protected from as part of the 'innocence of childhood', so I would not be happy with it either OP. YANBU

biometric systems have no statistical validity in the wider community they are unique to about 1 in 1500 to 2000 people because they are a series of points and not a full fingerprint

I do love "I disagree with those saying the fingerprints can't be used outside of the school system - but purely without specific knowledge on the subject"

that's just sublime -

"When the kid approaches again the fingerprint is converted into another number. If the numbers match then they are allowed to eat"

And if the numbers don't match (whether the actual fingerprints match or not, the child does NOT get to eat? - even if the account is in credit? Ridiculously over-complex, over-expensive system.

well activate, i don't know about everyone else, but i wasn't saying i disagree that they can't be used - probably they can't. But I would want to get some proper information on how the system works, and perhaps see it in action in order for me to be convinced that they really can't be used. and i wouldn't be giving permission for my DC to be fingerprinted without looking into the system further.

Common sense would be used! The child would eat! It seems to me to be a much more efficient method. I think it would be a great way of doing ID when they are teenagers-it would stop the common practise of faking it or using someone elses.

It seems a bit extreme to me. DD's school have a cardless/cashless system for lunch. She gives her name, photo comes up on the till and off she trots with her lunch tray. I can top it up from my phone and see what she's eaten, job done.

ACTIVATE thanks for clarifying.
Yes I was feeling rather sublime (& watching too much CSI!)

wynkenBlynken, that sounds like a much cheaper system and JUST as effective.

I do not want to rock the boat at my son's new school as it is fantastic, but this is something I have to make a decision on in the next couple of days and I'm really uneasy about the whole thing. If the photo thing works, why aren't they all doing that instead? There IS something sinister about it, and what annoys me is that the schools don't take it seriously enough to provide lots of information about how the whole thing works and proof of how secure it is. It is this uncertainty, and schools' glibness in approach to the whole issue which makes parents worry.
We just want reassurance that the system is totally secure and that the data will be destroyed when the children leave school!!

The biometric system doesn´t store actual fingerprints. It just takes a tiny section of the thumb, and transforms it into a kind of barcode, that´s ALL. Even if they passed the code on to the police (which they absolutely wouldn´t), it would be useless as a form of identifying a fingerprint.

Next you will be panicking about conspiracy theories a la mulder and scully!

If you are that concerned, just opt out. Just be aware that if you go for a pin number instead, a) your DC may forget the code, and b) it is more open to abuse ie another student could find out the pin and use it (it happened to a student I work with who cannot use the thumb scanner for physical disability-someone started buying food on her account).

This system is useful because it means the school and more importantly, the parents can access the records of what the student has bought. So is is very good to check that they are eating healthily, etc...

BAFE, you are being totally unreasonable in that the reason you give for not wanting your child fingerprinted is because they may get caught for a crime they commit later in life. Bonkers.

No system is foolproof, parents might be able to check up on what children order and take away on their tray, but there is no way to check how much of it they ate/what they swapped with another child while nobody was looking.

I don't think I would mind and certainly wouldn't object on the grounds that my child might grow up to be a criminal and I don't want them to be at a disadvantage to all their criminal friends

Yanbu

salzicap- if that is true - then that is all we need to know. However I don't know if it is true. I would have to do a lot of research into biometric data-taking to know for certain - so there is an element of trust needed.

The photo thing would work just as effectively so really taking their fingerprints seems an unnecessary way for schools to spend their budgets. I suspect it's just the 'in' thing, so they unquestioninly use it rather than looking at less costly and intrusive options.

If schools were more sensitive and informative, and less forthright about this, perhaps the large body of parents who object to it wouldn't harbour these concerns.

It is legitimate that parents question things when they do not have enough information.

YANBU at all...refuse quietly and make them come up with something else for your kids...civil right and all that...they have to provide an alternative! I would never agree to that either.

People are not very aware of the many and complex reasons why refusal is wise...