Fingerprinting of all adults is planned in South Africa

January 15, 1981

South Africa has unveiled plans to fingerprint its entire adult population, partly to counter guerrilla infiltration. Under a draft bill all new applicants for identity and other legal documents, will have their fingerprints taken. The bill, aimed at compilling an up-to-date population registration, also provides for introduction of a uniform identity document for all races at some future date. At present whites and nonwhites carry different documents.