Clubgoers in South Wales are to be fingerprinted, with the resulting biometric data to be retained indefinitely. The scheme is “voluntary” — unless local councils make it a licensing condition for clubs. Gerry Shy notes, “The march to sleeping submission of our biometric data to anyone and everyone who can invent a security/convenience justification continues. So many familiar elements here: think of the convenience; we can change mindsets…”
Mr Newman, whose forum represents about 100 premises in the city, said the benefits of digital ID scheme were “many and varied”.
In addition to identifying fake identify documents, information could be shared between venues about people who have been banned, he said.
He said: “Commercially, you benefit from a reduction in people trying to get in underage, if they are using someone else’s ID.
“As word spreads, people will know they are easily identified if they are associated with an incident of disorder.
“If you have less trouble, that’s good for business.”
South Wales Police back fingerprinting for clubbers