The end of liberty

[Marty Halvorson]

At 10/1/01  12:23 PM, Jeff Bone wrote:
>Marty Halvorson wrote:
> > How does this work when potentially dangerous individuals can change their
> > "apparent" identification very easily?
>Fake IDs may get you into bars when you're 19 y/o but they're usually not
>adequate to fool trained security or law enforcement officers.  No need for
>DNA, fingerprints, etc...  just checking *everyone's* ID *well* at the 
>point of
>departure would be a vast improvement.

The folks who crashed the planes had a least one ID belonging to someone 
else.  Worked just as well for them as it does to get into bars.  All they 
needed was the ID belonging to someone with a reasonable 
resemblance.  Didn't even need to fake an ID.

As long as the ID presented fulfills the requirements, e.g., the photo on 
the ID looks like the person presenting it, I don't see how checking 
"everyone's ID real well" is going to help.  Before 911 the agent at the 
gate or ticket counter compared my ID photo with me every time I flew.  I 
don't see how your suggestion will work without biometric data on the ID, 
that's checkable against the person presenting that ID.  Even then it's 
only a matter of time before someone figures out how to fake the "new" ID 
cards.

For example, there was a case in New Mexico a couple of years ago where a 
smart kid was selling ID's to his friends.  This was just after New Mexico 
had instituted holograms covering the photo, to make them "counterfeit 
proof".  True enough, they couldn't stand up to "real" close scrutiny, but 
they worked quite well for quite a few kids.  I claim that if a kid can 
make an acceptable counterfeit using his home PC, a professional can make 
one that would fool a security guard at the airport.

Peace,

Marty Halvorson
New Mexico Supreme Court
Administrative Office of the Court
Judicial Information Division
martyh@nmcourts.com
(505) 476-6916