Establishment of Residents' Fingerprint Bank ProposedA police deputy to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, proposed Sunday day that China should enact a law on establishing the residents' fingerprint information bank.Yu Shunhua, a police officer from the Public Security Bureau of Nanjing City, east China's Jiangsu Province, believed that this practice will make it easier for police to crack down on crimes, maintain social security and guarantee human rights. He cited his own experience. A theft case occurred in the office of a middle school in Nanjing, with a clear fingerprint left at the scene. He and his colleagues collected fingerprints from all suspects to find out clues. Later, however, because of the limited number of fingerprints collected, they failed to solve the case. In the course of collecting fingerprints they encountered displease of many people. He said, "If public security departments establish residents' fingerprint information banks, by comparing the fingerprint found at a crime scene to the fingerprints in the bank, police officers can promptly narrow the range of suspects and greatly improve efficiency in cracking criminal cases, without disturbing many law-abiding residents. He expressed the hope that the NPC should enact a law on collecting fingerprints of all citizens at the age of 16 and over. He said, "I think that establishing fingerprint information banks also serves as a significant expression of safeguarding human rights. With China's rapid economic and social development, it is becoming increasingly urgent to protect citizens' legitimate rights and interests in their work and life by using their fingerprints." |
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