Sistemas biometricos en materia criminal: un estudio comparado

There is an increasing interest in the implementation of biometric systems for identification purposes. Biometrics is not new; and has been in use since 1858. Facial, fingerprints and iris recognition are the most common biometic systems in use. This paper is about biometic systems deployment in law enforcement. The research involves a comparative study in Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and Spain where national biometric criminal databases are operating with asymmetries among them. The paper highlights Interpol's databases because they represent the best practices of the extent of biometric databases. It concludes that biometric systems pose singular challenges to privacy and data protection rights, particularly biometric criminal databases, not only at national level but also at international level.