Human rights campaigners have raised concerns about two pilot schemes using telephone lie-detection systems in order to crack down on benefit cheats.
One pilot programme has already started at Harrow LBC, and will run until May 2008, while another project at Birmingham City Council is expected to start within the next few weeks.
A spokesman for human rights group Liberty said: ‘New technology such as this needs to be carefully regulated to ensure the innocent are not swept up with the guilty.
‘Surely, there are more transparent methods for catching fraudsters?’
The schemes have been launched by the Department for Work and Pensions and all callers can request a face-to-face interview if they prefer. Voice-risk analysis software judges whether a claimant is lying, and there is a message at the start of every call to alert people about what is happening.
A DWP spokesman said: ‘It is important to remember that no decisions on benefit claims will be made solely on the basis of this technology – experienced staff will use it as one of the ways of checking that claims are genuine.’
Protecting the public realm without shutting it down
As Martyn's Law approaches, this free special report from LocalGov and Hill & Smith sets out how councils can protect public spaces without shutting them down.
