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Monday, April 5, 2004

The new system will allow pass holders to enter the park more quickly, prevent fraud and eliminate the need to wait in line to get photo IDs taken, said Doug Stagner, Busch Gardens' vice president of operations.

``We're trying to streamline the process,'' Stagner said. ``We need some way to match the person to the pass and this is a new, quicker way to do it.''

More than 1,000 people have been scanned using the new ``hand geometry'' system, Stagner said.

The process, called biometrics, uses electronic devices to verify identity by recognizing unique characteristics such as fingerprints, hands and the iris of the eye. The technology is used widely in verification systems at airports and security-sensitive facilities.

At airports, biometric systems are typically linked to a national database, which has enabled airlines to do background checks, but critics have raised concerns about privacy.

The park's HandEScan device, measuring the top of a person's hand, takes in finger height, knuckle shape and distance between the hand's joints. It takes two separate images and then combines the photos to create a 3-D image, according to officials. The information is stored in an internal system and then matched to each person's season-pass bar code upon entry to the park, Stagner said.

``There's really no privacy issue,'' he said. ``It's not fingerprinting. This is just for our internal use, matching the person to the pass.''

But not everyone is convinced.

Rebecca Ouellette, who has been a season-pass holder at Busch Gardens since she was 12, is skeptical. ``It's hard to believe that this isn't like fingerprinting,'' said the 27-year old Williamsburg resident. ``I wouldn't want my fingerprints in a big Busch Gardens file.''

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