14. Supply the correct form of the verbs given in brackets and perform the role play given below. Crisis of Identity

Id Cards

The first thing to say about the Cabinet’s decision on the introduction of identity cards yesterday concerns procedure, not substance. In spite of its faults, this was a compromise at the end of a proper process of discussion about a genuinely difficult issue. In the early years of this government, a much worse discussion (1) _______________ (to take) in a far worse way. Compulsory ID cards (2) _______________ (to stitch) between the Home Office and 10 Downing Street. They (3) _______________ (to announce) as a government fiat. There (4) _______________ (to be) a figleaf call for a great national debate, but in reality the decision already (5) _______________ (to take). A badly drafted bill (6) ______________ (to ram through) the Commons and (7) _______________ (to hack about) in the Lords. This time, the government genuinely (8) _________________ (to try) to do things in a better way. The discussion (9) ________________ (to be) extensive, (10) _______________ (to involve) the whole cabinet, and the disagreements (11) _______________ (to be) relatively open. And now it continues.

But what is the problem to which the introduction of identity cards is the solution? That is the question the government yet (12) _______________ (not to begin) to answer properly. There are several possible answers: to control illegal immigration and asylum seekers, to ensure proper take-up of benefits and public services, to crack down on so-called ‘health tourism’ in the NHS, to control the movement of criminals, including terrorists, and to bring together all the various proofs of identity required in the modern world in a single format.

But the existence of these possible answers is merely the starting point of the debate, not its end. The government needs to make a persuasive case that identity cards are the uniquely effective answer to such problems. It (13) _______________ (not to do) that yet.

The government also needs to have answers to many objections against ID cards. These objections include the immediate cost of setting up the system, the administrative and financial costs of maintaining it, the reliability of the technology and, above all, the civil liberty implications. If the ID cards (14) ________________ (to be) compulsory, as the government now says in principal it should be, then there has to be a criminal offence of failing to produce the card when (15) ________________ (to require) to do so by a police officer. Without such an offence, the system (16) ________________ (to be) meaningless and ineffective. But the creation of such an offence (17) ________________ (to open up) the possibility of a huge enforcement bureaucracy; ID cards offences rapidly (18) _________________ (can/become) an extremely serious waste of police time. Above all, it only takes a moment to realize that the police (and no one can ignore the kind of people they seem (19) ________________ (to recruit) these days) (20) ________________ (to use) these powers disproportionately against black people, just as they always (21) ________________ (to do) with other stop and search powers.

(From ‘The Guardian’, abridged)

Role play. You are taking part in a TV panel discussion on the problem of a possible introduction of ID cards.

Role 1. You are Malcolm Burk, the leader of the panel. Introduce the problem to be discussed and ask the participants to speak. Comment on the ideas of each speaker.

Role 2. You are Andrew Hodges, a government official. Explain what benefits the introduction of ID cards could bring.

Role 3. You are John Stone, a police officer. You are sure that if ID cards were introduced police work would greatly improve and cities would become much safer. (Give an example on the basis of any article given in Unit 6. (If the police had had a right to ..., the criminal would have been caught .. etc.)

Role 4. You are Laura Sponge, a lawyer. Express your concern about the introduction of compulsory ID cards. (The law must be properly enforced; police abuse, etc.) Explain what implications the law might have for ordinary law-abiding citizens. (Should you leave the ID card at home ... Should you lose it ... If your name was to be included in the police files due to an error ... If you had a namesake who happened to be a terrorist ...)