Child-Monitoring Database Raises Hope and Concern in England

This week, the British government launched ContactPoint, a national database containing detailed information on 11 million children up to 18 years of age living in England, the BBC reported. The database will be available to approximately 390,000 teachers, doctors, social workers, police and other child care professionals, allegedly enabling them to deliver more coordinated and exhaustive health and social services for children.

At the initial launch of the database in January, Children’s Secretary Ed Balls was quoted as saying by the Guardian that "No system can ever guarantee that all children will be safe but we know ContactPoint will make a real difference." Apart from the usual information such as name, date of birth, gender, address and contact information, the database will include details such as “school performance, diet and even whether their parents provide a ‘positive role model’,” the Daily Mail reported in 2006.

Because of a series of concerns about data security, the installation of the database—which cost taxpayers an impressive 224 million pounds ($346 million)—has suffered two delays. According to the BBC, a 2007 report conducted by auditing company Deloitte and Touche stated that the security of the system could never be entirely guaranteed.

Fears about database misuse persist: To prevent information abuse, the government will shield the identities and profiles of the more than 51,000 children considered to be at risk, the BBC reported.

 

This article was originally published on findingdulcinea.com