Fingerprint ID's: Too Much Information?

community center in is in the process of switching from key fobs to fingerprint recognition to identify members for entry.

Membership specialist Ellen Cooper said members will scan their middle finger and ring finger on the left hand and be entered into the facility.

“People are excited about it,” Cooper said. “They like the new technology.” She said staff hope to have all members in their database by Oct. 1.

A member who doesn’t want her fingerprints stored at The Heights asked where the prints are stored.

“The database is here locally. It’s totally secure,” Cooper said. In an email to Patch, she said, “Neither we nor Vermont Systems or M2SYS store your fingerprints, nor can the data we store be re-created into a fingerprint image.” She also said The Heights won’t transfer the fingerprints to any third parties.

Heights member Mel Davis said it doesn’t bother her.

“I’m a teacher, so I have to give my fingerprint to get into school, so I guess it doesn’t bother me to give my fingerprint here too.”

Another member, Mark Cockson, said he sees potential problems.

“This enables Richmond Heights Community Center to amass a boatload of thumbprints, and if the patron commits or has committed a crime, the sharing of same with RH Police, F.B.I., and Interpol,” Cockson said.

Marketing director Jenny Matteo at the Mid-County YMCA said her office hasn’t started using fingerprint technology.

“What we have works, and we haven’t had a ton if issues, so we’re going to keep doing it,” she said.

She also said she thinks for security and identity, things are going that way in the future, “but the Y isn’t going to be the first one to try it.”

How do you feel about an organization such as a community center storing fingerprints for identification purposes? Is that too much information for an organization to have on you? Or are you fine with it?