Norwegian hospital to equip babies with anti-theft alarms

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

OSLO (AFP) — A Norwegian hospital said Monday it was planning to equip all newborn babies with anti-theft alarms to protect them from kidnappings and help avoid identity mix-ups.

"The main reason is that we want to emphasise security," Erik Normann, head of the Akershus University Hospital near Oslo told AFP.

"There was a period in which Norway experienced several infant kidnappings and that is something we want to avoid," he said.

The alarm system consists of two small chips, one attached to a bracelet clasped around the baby's ankle as soon as it is born and the other stuck on the mother's bracelet.

When the two chips are separated by a certain distance the alarm is set off. If a woman tries to leave with a baby who is not her own, or if someone...