Should we all carry ID cards?

Yes, says Chief Insp Howard Harding of York police.

WE live in the age of globalisation. There is easy access across borders and boundaries. People commute from Europe to Britain.

Cheap flights from airlines such as EasyJet and Ryan Air allow many more people to move around the world. We have got to be able to police that.

There is a problem with illegal immigration into Britain. We are aware that some elements in that group are connected with crime. But we don't know who they are.

If we cannot find the perpetrators of these crimes, we cannot help the victims. Nor can we stop them committing more offences. A mandatory identity card system would make it harder for them to hide.

For many years we have had closed circuit television cameras watching the city of York. That is one tool the police use to fight crime: ID cards would be another.

We are in the business of making the community as safe as we possibly can. Our aim is to reduce crime and the fear of crime. An ID card that could instantly identify a person involved in our inquiries would help us to do that.

We adhere to the Human Rights Act, and I respect the view of those who believe ID cards would infringe their civil liberties. But I don't believe it would.

If you are an innocent person, why should it be a problem for you to prove to the authorities who you are?

Already people are asked to give their identities in various situations. We use driving licences or passports, but not everyone has these. Most of us are already in the system, but the people who aren't still need to be identified.

It has been argued that any ID card could be forged by criminals. But the Government is looking at using new technology, such as iris scans and fingerprints, to make this much harder.

Let's keep this simple. European countries have been using ID cards for years without any controversy. And police across Europe generally find them helpful.

I listened to some radio interviews with people in Germany. The researcher spoke to many people from different backgrounds and they were all happy and comfortable with the system. No one thought of it as an issue.

In this day and age, an identity card would be very useful to the police and other authorities.

People with nothing to hide would have nothing to fear. I am sure that if there were a referendum on mandatory ID cards tomorrow, most people would vote in favour.

No, says Andy D'Agorne of the York Green Party

I AM strongly against compulsory identity cards. For a start, it is a complete waste of money. One estimate puts the cost of the scheme at £1.5 billion: I can certainly think of a lot of more useful ways the Government could spend that money.

ID cards would be an infringement of our civil liberties and privacy. This country has always been very strongly opposed to this idea. Yet, nearly 20 years on from 1984, the year in which George Orwell set his novel about an authoritarian regime watching our every move, the Labour Government is proposing something on similar lines.

Each form of identity we carry now, such as a driving licence or passport, is designed for a particular purpose. Identity cards would bring us much closer to a Big Brother government. Information which you might legitimately want to keep confidential to a particular aspect of your life could be passed around the Government.

ID cards could be oppressive for people in ethnic minority groups. Some may well have escaped from totalitarian regimes which required them to carry ID cards as a method of control.

It is ironic that Home Secretary David Blunkett should be proposing the scheme at a time when we are remembering those who died fighting for Britain against just such a totalitarian regime, that used ID cards to single out particular groups for the gas chambers.

This debate will certainly play into the hands of those who wish to spread xenophobic fear of people who look slightly different, or who might be perceived as being potential terrorists purely because of their background.

The requirement to show ID on demand could pave the way for a return to the days of the discredited "sus" or suspicion laws, when the police stopped a disproportionate number of people from ethnic minorities or even the 'pass laws' of apartheid South Africa. That would harm community relations.

The idea that ID cards will protect us needs careful examination. Those criminals who the police are most likely to want to identify through ID cards are the ones who are most likely to forge them. Strengthening local communities and fostering good relations are more likely to be effective than ever more draconian policing.

Any compulsory ID card scheme would further erode our freedoms and undermine our right to privacy.

I was actively involved in the anti-poll tax campaign which was a very effective way of bringing the government to its senses on an unpopular and illogical law. So I would be prepared to disobey any future law on compulsory ID cards.

On certain major issues we have to come together to take that sort of non-violent action. It is about taking a stand to defend our freedom and way of life. Losing our civil liberties undermines our way of life just as much as the terrorism it is intended to combat.

Updated: 10:42 Wednesday, November 12, 2003