California skate park to get biometric access control
07 April, 2010
category: Biometrics, Government
A southern California skate park called Poway Skate Park is hoping the introduction of biometric turnstiles for entry into the park will help reduce vandalism, bullying and other unwanted activities, according to a Sign On Sand Diego article.
A scan of a guest’s thumb will be required for entry after the skater has already registered his thumbprint and photo and signed a liability waiver at the park.
Park officials are hopeful that the new system in conjunction with new surveillance cameras will allow them to track violations of park rules, give out punishments such as temporary or even permanent removal from the park to the correct people and, most importantly, be able to follow through on the punishments. While the city is hopeful the new installations will eventually stop the violating activity that has become a big problem recently, city staff will not be regularly monitoring the surveillance video.
Other capabilities the scanner, provided by biometrics company NextgenID, may be able to provide the park is certain age-restrictive events such as kids-only days or adults-only days. While the new measures have seen some positive feedback from parents, some of the park’s younger attendees find all the upgrades to be overkill citing that they feel something as simple as the surveillance cameras could have been enough to deter crime.
Read the full story here.