House of Lords Committee questions legality of LFR technology

Initiated last December, the study follows on from some of the themes outlined in the Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s report entitled ‘Technology Rules? The Advent of New Technologies in the Justice System, which was published on 30 March 2022.

In essence, LFR technology compares a live camera video feed of faces against a pre-determined ‘Watchlist’ of individuals in order to find a possible match. The Justice and Home Affairs Committee asserts that there are no rigorous standards or systems of regulation in place in respect of the use of LFR in parallel with no consistency in the approach used by police forces when it comes to training in these systems.

As a result, the Justice and Home Affairs Committee is calling for:

*a clear foundation in law for the use of LFR technology

*a legislative framework for the regulation of the deployment of LFR technology

*clear structures and regulation in relation to the use of LFR in addition to a system of independent scrutiny

*future-proofing of regulations to meet the rapid advancement in technology

*consistency in training and in the use of LFR across England and Wales

Deep concern

The Justice and Home Affairs Committee writes that the police should make it very apparent to members of the public when and where LFR technology is being deployed. Also, pre-deployment communication must be standardised through a national enforceable procedure.

There’s an acceptance from the Committee that LFR may be a valuable tool for police forces in terms of apprehending criminals, but it’s “deeply concerned” that its use is being expanded “without proper scrutiny and accountability”.

The Committee is calling on central Government to address all of these points. “It is essential to ensure that the public trusts the police in its operations and supports the use of the technology.”

Clear legal basis

Baroness Hamwee, chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, noted: “Does the use of LFR have a basis in law? Is it actually legal? It is essential that the public trusts LFR and how it’s used. It must be fundamental that the legal basis is clear. Current regulation is not sufficient. Oversight is inadequate.”

Further, Baroness Hamwee stated: “Technology is developing so fast that regulation must be future-proofed. Police forces may soon be able to link LFR cameras to trawl large populations, such as that of Greater London, and not just specific localities.”

In conclusion, Baroness Hamwee observed: “We are an outlier as a democratic state in terms of the speed at which we are applying this technology. We question why there is such disparity between the approach in England and Wales and other democratic states in the regulation of LFR.”