DOT in crime screen row
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• The Department of Transport has come under fire for violating civil liberties after admitting that it is screening 0licence applicants for criminal records.
The admission follows this month's publication of a revised application form for the new system of continuous licensing for LGII and KV operators. It contains an unexplained request for the applicant's date of birth.
This week the DOT said that the extra information is to aid the police in checking for possible criminal convictions. "The police are already checking the suitability of applicants. This isn't regarded as any change in policy, just a means of facilitating that," says the DOT.
But civil liberties group Liberty has attacked the additional question on the grounds that applicants will not know why they are asked for their date of birth.
"There's nothing wrong in trying to check up on criminal records but it should be a wholly transparent process. It should be made clear on the form why the information is requested and for what it will be used...there is no real right to privacy," says Liberty.
Industry observers go further, suggesting that the move could be a "thin edge of the wedge".
"All our details will be on computer, without us knowing, and we'll all be checked up on when all we really want is a licence to work," says one.