- MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's
attorney general and other senior staff have had computer chips implanted
in their arms to serve both as an identity device and a tracking mechanism
should they be kidnapped.
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- Rafael Macedo de la Concha said similar non-removable
chips had been inserted under the skin of senior staff in his office and
the 160 employees of a new state-of-the-art crime database.
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- The attorney general did not seem particularly concerned
about getting his arm chopped off in consequence, perhaps because he already
believes he is risking his life.
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- Two weeks ago hundreds of thousands of people marched
through the capital demanding more action to bring down rampant levels
of kidnapping and other violent crime and the new information centre is
part of the government's efforts to show it is responding to public concern.
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- The primary function of the chip, Mr Macedo said, was
to control access to the centre in order to reduce the risk of sensitive
information being leaked to criminal gangs. Widespread corruption is considered
the main reason why many victims do not report crimes, particularly kidnapping,
which further complicates the task of combating the phenomenon.
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- In remarks taken to mean that he himself could be kidnapped,
Mr. Macedo also said that in his case the chip would have the added benefit
of ensuring he could be "found wherever I am".
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- Anti-kidnap microchips are already part of crime mythology
in Mexico, where international security firms estimate there are as many
as 3,000 kidnapping cases a year.
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- Max Morales, a private lawyer who advises families negotiating
with kidnappers, said many people believe such chips are already generally
available in Mexico, which is not the case and is unlikely to be so for
some time.
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- One consequence of this, he said, was the emergence of
a gang nicknamed "el chip" for its habit of stripping its victims
and violently demanding to know where on their body they have a locating
device.
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- Mr Morales stressed that such threats of mutilation mean
that if chips do go on the market in the future the worst thing a wearer
could do is advertise the fact - as the attorney general had just done.
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- "It is very dangerous to go around showing off about
it," he said. "Chips would require absolute confidentiality."
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004 http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/story/0,12976,1260858,00.html
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