Safety or invasion of privacy.

My husband thinks this will be done routinely in the not too distant future. More for identification purposes than location.
My granddaughter's Uni accomodation is not far from the missing girl's home, its very worrying.

I'm on the fence about it.
I can see how much it could help with tracing people, but, its very 'Big Brother'.

The technology exists to do this already, but it's a huge step too far for me. People of ill will can be relied upon to outwit even the smartest of technology, as has already been demonstrated by the removal of ID chips in expensive pets that have been stolen, so I do not think this will routinely be done. (I hope not anyway.)

I do however feel deeply for the family and friends of the young woman who is missing.

You cannot track a pet through its ID chip, only scan it when found.

Does the technology exist to actually track someone or something through another type of ‘chip’? I think not, but happy to be proved wrong. If so I might get one so that when I wander off from the Care Home I can be returned.

There is also a lad missing in Reading at the moment. Both students went missing on Thursday night after drinking. So sad. I hope and pray they can be found alive.

I do hope that they are both found safe and well.

It was reported on our local news that one third of police time here is spent looking for missing people.
Most of course, go missing of their own free will, many turn up again or are found, but it is still distressing for family and friends when they do go missing - and repeat this regularly.

No, I do not agree with a chip, a compulsory tracking device.

I hope they are found safe although the more time that goes by the less it looks likely such a tragedy but a chip is way too much of an invasion of rights to be able to ‘follow’ people how would an adult child ever have a private life. How would an abused wife (or husband) ever get away from their partner on the other hand criminals wouldn’t be able to say they weren’t where they were and children and old people could be found if lost

Do you have Netflix?

If so, watch the Black Mirror episode, "Arkangel" from series 4. It deals with exactly this technology.

No, absolutely not. We should be able to be invisible.
We already have way too many cctv cameras and phone trackers etc.

I think CCTV and phone trackers can be a massive help in finding missing people such as these students.
I hope these two are found quickly and that they are reunited with their families who must be distraught.

This would just be another step towards 1984 control. A frightening idea. It can be done it a person has their phone,as I understand.

It is dreadful of course that these young people have disappeared and I hope they turn up.

Terrifying thought. No privacy, abusers able to trace their victims.

I doubt if a chip system would have been any use in this case. The girl concerned was staggering and incoherently drunk and inappropriately dressed for freezing cold weather. By the time it was realised she was missing and any chip activated it would probably be too late anyway, she would already have died of hypothermia. The same would apply if she had been abducted, assaulted and then chucked out of a car somewhere.

Privacy is a fairly modern concept, it didn't exist a couple of hundred years ago, but it is something I cherish. Younger generations don't value it nearly as much, and perhaps the circle will come round again.

I am quite sure babies will all be chipped at birth one or two generations further down the line. The chip will store all their medical records, bank details, access to home and office, and location details, possibly even their voting records and beliefs. The details will be available to every government organisation, police, hospital etc, it will make controlling the population so much easier. Hacking into these chips will become a major focus for criminals and foreign powers.

It is not a world I would want to be a part of, but it I don't think it will worry overmuch those who have never known anything different.

My heart goes out to the parents of any missing child, and I can understand how attractive it would seem to be able to call up their location on a screen when you would do absolutely anything to get them back. I pray that the parents will get some information soon.

MOnica, this is still an ongoing investigation, Libby appeared to be drunk, she could have had her drink spiked, no one knows for certain.
Your post is suggesting she was to blame for whatever may have happened.
I’m sure that any one of my three AC have at some point been vulnerable after too much alcohol.
Therefore but the grace of God.....

Some people are safer missing than found.....

Many have caring families desperate to have them back. A good few others feel safer on the streets or in prison than at home..

How quickly people jump to impute blame. I said she was drunk. I did not discuss whether this was because her drink was spiked or because she had chosen to drink too much. However she was clearly under-dressed for the weather and that was her choice. Again I am not imputing blame. I am just stating that she would have made that choice.

Quite honestly, now and again why shouldn't we blame people? If more people took responsibility for their actions the better it would be

and before you start running the sexism hare. What I am saying applies to the young man missing from Reading University as well. Too much drink, probably insufficient clothes for the weather.

If the technology for these chips evolves, then the technology to scan for them will also evolve and if someone is kidnapped or a child is stolen, they will be subjected to the chip being removed , probably in a very unpleasant way.

It doesn't bear thinking about.

Similar thing happened to a young fresher last autumn, he went missing after a night out drinking, lots of people searched and he was found weeks later in the river. Alcohol was involved although I believe there are conditions which make you look drunk when you have not had alcohol.

I can see benefits of us all being chipped but I wouldn't like it to be one which could be tracked. Imagine how helpful it would be to identify yourself at a job centre, hospital etc. blood group, serious health conditions, no proving you had a right to anything, it would all be on your chip. No checking age or your right to drive. Straight through at the airport. Could be quite useful if the infrastructure was in place.

A body has been found this morning in the Reading case.

I know the technology is there, it’s an interesting concept and I guess we are probably very close to it being a reality.
Very frightening thought as to how it may have been used historically and what the consequences may have been.
I think right now if it kept my child/grandchild safe then I would probably be an advocate.

Yes, he was found in the lake on the campus. Having lived in Reading for half my life, mostly close to the university, that is the first place I would have looked. I am surprised it took so long to find him.

What a tragedy for his parents.

The lake was frozen until Monday.

Ice is breakable.