398.This section provides the Secretary of State with a power to make regulations to enable data to be collected about people’s external physical characteristics other than by taking fingerprints. By virtue of section 166(5), these regulations are to be made by the affirmative resolution procedure. This section has been included to take account of the new systems of identification that are currently being developed which will eventually provide an alternative means of uniquely identifying individuals to replace fingerprinting.
Schedule 9 Part VII: Power to arrest, search and fingerprint Section 144: Other methods of collecting data about physical characteristics