Mexican Crime-Fighters Get Microchips To Foil Kidnaps
Mexico’s concerns about increasing crime and police corruption has led to VeriChip microchips being implanted in as many as 160 members of the Attorney General’s office and consideration of putting the devices in employees of President Vicente Fox’s office and top military officials.
If someone implanted with the chip is kidnapped, an electromagnetic scanner activates the chip to help authorities keep track of the person. The chip also gives users secure access to a national, computerized database for crime investigators.
A special identification number on the chip prevents them from being effectively duplicated.
The chip can be used in combination with biometric technologies such as iris pattern readers and fingerprint scanners, or as a “standalone, tamper-proof personal verification technology,” according to VeriChip parent company Applied Digital Solutions.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the London Independent (07/17/04) P. 33; Gaynor, Tim.