Government pledges to “ramp up” use of facial recognition and biometrics

In the last two years, the Metropolitan Police Service has made 1,300 arrests using facial recognition. The Government’s consultation is seeking to pave the way for new laws such that all police forces can employ this technology with greater confidence and on a more frequent basis.

Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones stated: “Facial recognition represents the biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching. This technology has already helped to take thousands of dangerous criminals off our streets and has huge potential when it comes to strengthening how the police keep us safe. The intention is to expand the use of facial recognition technology so that police forces can put more criminals behind bars and tackle crime in their communities.”

Different types  

The police service currently uses three different types of facial recognition technology: retrospective, live and operator-initiated.

*Retrospective facial recognition: used as part of criminal investigations to search images from crime scenes (through CCTV, mobile phone or video doorbell footage) against images of people taken on arrest

*Live facial recognition: using live video footage of people passing cameras and comparing their images to a specific list of individuals wanted by the police

*Operator-initiated facial recognition: a mobile app that allows officers to check someone’s identity without having to arrest them and take them into custody

Expanding the use of facial recognition technology across police forces will help them to catch more perpetrators through this advanced technology.

The ten-week consultation will encourage an open discussion among the public, Parliament and the police, looking at the benefits of facial recognition and asking what safeguards are needed to ensure confidence in its use (and the use of similar technologies which are likely to follow). It will explore when and how the technologies should be used, how to protect people’s privacy and whether using these technologies is proportionate to the level of harm being addressed.  

The consultation also proposes the creation of a single body to oversee and regulate police usage of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies, while also seeking views on what responsibilities it should have.

Home Office research   

Research published by the Home Office shows that retrospective facial recognition is viewed as the most acceptable type of facial recognition by the public, with 97% of people surveyed saying that it’s at least sometimes acceptable for the police to use it. 80% of those individuals surveyed think it’s at least sometimes acceptable for the police service to use live facial recognition in order to locate suspects.

The Home Office invested £12.6 million in facial recognition last year, with £2.8 million being spent on national live facial recognition capabilities, including mobile vans and fixed-location pilots. This year, £6.6 million is supporting the adoption, evaluation and responsible roll-out of facial recognition technology, including £3.9 million for the development of a new national facial matching service.  

Lindsey Chiswick, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for facial recognition, explained: “Live facial recognition helps police officers to locate wanted offenders, including those missing for years, and monitor individuals subject to court-imposed conditions. This technology makes officers more effective and delivers more arrests than would otherwise be possible.”

Chiswick continued: “Live facial recognition is making a real difference in keeping communities safe. It’s already subject to strong safeguards and rigorous oversight, while policing remains committed to using it both proportionately and responsibly.”   

Further, Chiswick noted: “Public trust is vital. We want to build on that by listening to people’s views. This consultation is an opportunity for the public to help shape how live facial recognition continues to be deployed, what protections matter most and how policing can continue to use this technooogy in a way that reinforces confidence.”

Massive step forward 

Neil Basu QPM, former head of Counter Terrorism Policing, observed: “Live facial recognition is a massive step forward for law enforcement: a digital 21st Century step change much in the tradition of fingerprint and DNA technology. Most crimes are committed by a few, often habitual criminals. Those criminals cannot avoid shops, Shopping Centres, stadiums and transport hubs, all of which are places where live facial recognition can be deployed to spot them and allow them to be brought to justice. The live facial recognition system was, but no longer is, discriminatory. However, it will still require proper legal safeguards and oversight by the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner.”

Basu concluded: “Every use has a police officer safety net, with the officer there to check that the identification is correct and prevent miscarriages of justice. This Government consultation is a necessary and welcome step, and one which I hope will expedite the technology’s use by policing, assist officers to catch more criminals and keep us all much safer.”

Sue Daley OBE, director of tech and innovation at techUK, said: “Facial recognition technology can deliver real benefits for law enforcement and help to create safer communities. This powerful technology offers opportunities, but also raises concerns that must be properly understood and addressed.”

Daley concluded: “We welcome the Home Office consultation. Regulation clarity, certainty and consistency on how this technology is to be used will be paramount to establish trust and long-term public support. We stand ready to support the consultation process.”