The British government are trying to introduce ID cards for the population. This is a bad idea for a variety of reasons, not least the cost � both monetary and in time.
In order to get an ID card, you would need several forms of identification document; passport, driving license, birth certificate, etc. All of these already provide proof of ID, and all of these are readily forged, or genuine documents obtained in false names.
As this is the case, requiring ID cards adds nothing to security; anyone who can get a passport or drivers license now will be able to get an ID card when they find they need one. This adds no security to the system whatsoever. Furthermore, there is always the possibility that terrorist sleeper cells are already in the country, and already have forms of identification, which means they can readily acquire ID cards if they need them.
The current plans do not propose to tie ID cards with any other system of identification. That is, the drivers database, the passport database, the births, marriages and deaths records, are all distinct and separately controlled. This new ID card would simply be yet another system, with flaws of its own. What is more, it is likely that an ID card could be used to obtain other forms of identity, such as passports, which are accepted the world over. In this situation, the introduction of ID cards would actually reduce security; not increase it.
When the cost of this system is considered, along with time spent discussing and implementing it, and the inconvenience caused to the British public, along with the reality that ID cards would be completely pointless and serve no useful purpose, this system is clearly not a good security trade-off.
The security industry deals with trade-offs all the time. There is no such thing as perfect security, and people always want convenience over security, so the trade-off is to provide the maximum security at the minimum inconvenience to the people that must use the system. ID cards, in their current state of proposal, do not provide a good security trade-off. They cost a lot to implement, cause inconvenience, and do not add to security at all.
[tags]id cards,security,terrorism,identity cards,uk politics[/tags]