It was announced last week that the Port of New York and New Jersey will be part of a pilot program involving new sophisticated ID card readers. The readers will work to enhance port security by verifying Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards. Each card will include biometric information so that only the card’s true owner can use it.

Student Card Limited and the Jamaican ministry of education have teamed together to create a student ID which is hoped to reduce the amount of cash in the schools. This, in turn, is hoped to reduce the amount of crime committed by students and help administrations increase their efficiency.

Buses in Victoria, Australia will soon begin testing a new public transportation smart card. The program, called “myki,” will allow commuters to use a smart card for riding public transportation. When the card is scanned, the fare is deducted from the card’s balance.

After publicly joining the governors of several other states in a clear disapproval of the REAL ID act of 2005, Washington governor Christine Gregoire has voiced support for a new state ID program that would replace the state's requirements for the REAL ID card.

Thornton, Colorado’s Rocky Top Middle School (Go Grizzlies!) recently implemented a new visitor management system as a way to increase school security. So far, response to the system, know as The Raptor, has been extremely positive.

In response to a rash of robberies in nearby Marion, officials in Sherborn, MA have instituted a policy that requires all 55 city employees to wear ID badges.

A new RFID-based tracking system is being tested by coal provider Southern West Virginia Resources. The MineTracer system, installed in a 3.5-mile tunnel system, provides real-time tracking of miners and assets within the tunnels. Currently, most coal mines in the U.S. have no way of tracking miners, other than reports of who’s in the mine at what time. But after 14 miners died in the 2006 Sago Mine accident in West Virginia, Congress passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act instructing all mines to implement wireless tracking systems by 2009. Read More>>