NT tracks problem drinkers with biometrics

The Northern Territory Department of Justice has deployed biometric readers to 14 police watch houses under a program to track the frequency that problem drinkers enter custody.

The Integrated Justice Identification Module was designed and installed by Unisys, and has been rolled out progressively since July last year.

When a person under the influence of alcohol is placed into protective custody at a watch house, the module is used to capture the person's fingerprints and photograph.

These are stored in a database that allows police to locate past incidences. Three trips to protective custody in as many months is enough to land the person on the Territory's banned drinker register, which can see them banned from buying, possessing or consuming alcohol for up to a year.

Those people can then receive "appropriate care" as part of the Territory's 'Enough is Enough' alcohol reforms, according to a Unisys statement.