End of September a Syrian (26) died in jail in Kleve after a fire in his cell, which presumably had been lighted up by himself.
In despair: He was innocent. The authorities had confused him with a man from Mali. At present the police is investigating further cases of such mistakes in NRW jails (NRW - German State of Nordrhein Westfalen).
Minister of the Interior, Mr. Herbert Reul, states that it is a general problem. Following official estimations there are round about two million falsified passports circulating in Germany. Often delinquents manage to register themselves at authorities under falsified identities, just like in the case of Anis Amri, the Berlin Christmas market assassin (14 identities).
A new invention from Bonn would have unmasked him before!
MIDAS (Mandated IDentity Authentication System) is a self-service terminal, an inconspicuous box made of stainless steel but in which, nevertheless, there is artificial intelligence integrated. Protected against vandalism and equipped with scanners and cameras the machine examines 15.000 characteristics of an ID card in real time once it is presented. If an individual is already registered under a different identity he or she will be searched. Within a few seconds fraudsters are unmasked and the BKA (Federal Criminal Agency) receives a notification from the computer immediately.
MIDAS can’t only make day to day life more secure but also more convenient. “Our system can make authority visits obsolete or it can prevent double identities”, Daniel Scheld, speaker of the HR GmbH company inventor team, explains. “Our system can be deployed in educational facilities, hospitals or supermarkets. We can offer citizen services everywhere.” Along the way, during shopping, a new passport could be applied for or the car registered.
Abuse excluded: Once the personal data is captured the cameras also record the user’s environment. Entries made under duress would be noticed immediately. Another advantage for the police: the individual in front of the terminal is not being warned during a fraud attempt. Scheld: “This prevents a perpetrator from escaping immediately!”
