Survey yields troubling results for UK Government ID schemes
04 February, 2010
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The UK is looking to new ways to combat underage drinking, smoking and violent crimes as recent survey reveals the futility of the Government Teenage ID scheme. A national study by Clarity Commerce surveyed 1,200 teenagers who admitted to not only using older friend’s ID cards to purchase alcohol, cigarettes and knives, but also to acquiring fake ID cards for themselves.
The UK Government efforts to deter teenagers from this behavior by implementing ID schemes have proven ineffective as teenagers find more ways to beat the system and fool shop keepers. Some 78% of over 18s admit to lending their ID to underage kids while 1 in 5 teenagers buy false IDs.
The failure of ID schemes and threat of heavy fines has lead to some UK retailers to challenge customers who look like they’re under 25 and deny sale if they do not have an appropriate ID to prove they’re over 18. However retailers fear this protection will come at a high price when they continue to turn away customer who are actually legal to buy.
One solution from Clarity Commerce is their two camera system which is placed at the check-out counter and alarms when an item is scanned that requires a proof of age verification. The cameras will link automatically to a trained staff member who judges whether the individual is legal to purchase the item. The solution lacks guarantee, but certainly helps businesses from potential fines or fires.
