Technology: promise or threat? Air travel has made international journeys almost as simple as getting on a bus but, since September 2001, security systems at airports have been increased to screen potential terrorists and the introduction of biometric details on passports has been largely accepted as providing an extra safeguard against false identity. That is to be taken a step further with people in the next stage of the government's e-borders scheme, to be extended to Scotland next year. The first stage - the counting of passengers travelling in and out of Scotland - should provide an accurate basis for statistics for planning purposes, including the vital tourism industry, which are currently based largely on estimates.
It becomes more contentious when the data includes personal details. The "offshore line of defence" scheme, which will mean travellers' details are eventually checked against government systems and permission to enter the country granted or denied before they leave foreign soil, will have the obvious benefit of allowing the police to be waiting for an intending passenger for whom there is an arrest warrant. That is no more than a technological update for the computer age of old-fashioned policing that relied on spotting someone known to be wanted. Until it becomes clear how it will operate, however, there will be some human rights concerns over the ability of individuals to travel freely.
Before we are completely surrounded by an e-border, however, the public will want reassurance that their personal details will not go astray or become accessible to anyone with criminal intent. Given the recent series of blunders over losing memory sticks and computer discs and unauthorised access to health records, security of data must be built into the system.
Britons have an ambiguous attitude to surveillance. As the country with the highest number of CCTV cameras per head of population, we have largely bought into the idea that those who do nothing wrong have nothing to fear from them and that the ability to identify criminals is worth a reduction in privacy. That is analogous to checking intending passengers against the police national computer. At the same time, we remain to be convinced of the need for identity cards, partly because of the enormous cost of the system, partly because we already have documents such as passports and driving licences to verify our identity, and partly because of the possibility of very real difficulties caused when mistakes are made. To overcome the disadvantages - of having to give several days' advance notice of travel and longer check-ins - the e-border system must be used with painstaking care.
