“Excuse me miss, do you have any ID?”

How many times in your life have you been asked that?  In my youth – never except when I went to a nightclub. Now, its common place. IDs are significant to the society. They are used to identify each person from his office, school, and country. I never imagined when I was at school I would have to have an actual ID badge to be able to get into my place of learning. However, their use in schools and the workplace is becoming the normal and not the abnormal.

WHEN WE NEED ID BADGES OR CARDS

In general, ID badges and cards serve as a function to identify the ID bearer as a person who is supposed to be in the building. They give comfort to the people around that he or she is significantly there for a reason.

1) Schools

In a learning environment like schools, universities, libraries and others, the ID badge is a requirement. Because of major developments in the technology, a database of pictures and personal information is easy to obtain
from schools.The biggest crime committed at schools once was “Who stole Peter’s lunch?” Now students have to deal with rape, sexual assault, terrorism, major robbery, weapons, drugs, and alcohol. The bullying that has always gone on and was swept under the carpet is now out in
the open.

Because of the ID badge/card, school management can determine the students and the teachers who come into the gate. They are able to keep track of visitors who come into the school compound. By setting up a rule that IDs are a standard operating procedure on registration processing, schools are able to keep a record of all their students.

IDs are used as admission of events, meal stubs for students and faculty, borrowing of books and school equipment like an LCD projector, amplifier, TV monitor, etc. Most schools now require students to wear ID badges or present their card on gate entry.

When the ID has been formatted for school purposes alone, they are often used as an access to vending machines in the campus.

2) Workplace

The company is able to distinguish the people working in each department whether it may be in maintenance or financial department. Each employee is listed in the database of profiles. If the employee has forgotten to bring the ID, it makes it easier for the security department to view the employees profile in the database to authenticate his identity.

Not only do the employees feel safe, the company itself prevents spies from other companies, thieves, and unauthorised personnel. By making sure that each employee is using their ID badge/card, all of the people in the workplace feel they belong and they are being taken care of.

With IDs, the company reflects professionalism throughout the office. Normally they provide the job nature of each employee and, in the USA particularly, they include corresponding social security numbers or serial code.

3) Other uses

ID badges and cards are used as any access control cards. As used in hotel key cards, IDs often provide their customers with their personal key to their own private suites. With just one swipe, they make use of the hotel’s facilities. They sometimes serve as medical identification cards that ensure they are entitled for medicinal purpose alone.

IDs are also used in election procedures wherein the needed information is placed into a database and all the necessary numbers and data are retrieved with a swipe.

ID badges and cards serve the society in many ways. They have become an information gateway to major businesses, institutions and the country. Without these, the people in a high-tech world would be disorganised.

WHEN WE DON’T NEED ID BADGES OR CARDS

• ID badges and cards will:
• Not help protect people from identity fraud and theft.
• Will not ensure that people are who they say they are.
• Will not tackle illegal working and immigration abuse.
• Will not disrupt the use of false and multiple identities by criminals and those involved in terrorist activity.
• Will prevent free public services from being used by those who do need them
• Let the Government track all of your financial interactions (above a certain amount).
• Stop you working, travelling far, buying a car, getting health care if any kind of mistake is made in your computer record.

FINAL WORD

These are my views and not necessarily iNews’. I welcome receiving yours.