"Law enforcement officials may one day use their mobile phones to help identify criminals, thanks to an application being demonstrated by Motorola, Visionics and Wirehound. "

This is the future. When you go into a mall, airport, or other public place you are constantly being scanned against a database of government offenders. Got some unpaid traffic tickets? Better not go into a public place. Look sort of like someone who comitted a murder? Have fun getting shaken down everywhere you go. Next thing that happens is that former offenders are fed into the system. No one wants a former child molester to shop at their grocery store, do they? Of course, they also add in the former shop lifters. Steal a box of candy at one store when you are 15 and you'll be locked out of stores all over the country. I hope you really DID steal something and its not just a disagreement with someone that works at the store that led to your inclusion in the database.

This stuff is going to spread like wildfire, and will only be curbed if the stores decide that the number of people they are excluding from business is actually impacting their bottom line.