Police facial recognition cameras to be ramped up on our streets – ‘wild west’ warning
Policing Minister Sarah Jones said use of facial recognition technology could be ‘the biggest breakthrough since DNA matching’ as the Home Office launches a consultation on its use
Police chiefs are set to ramp up use of controversial AI facial recognition cameras.
The Government wants forces in England and Wales to make more use of the technology – which a minister says could be the “biggest breakthrough since DNA matching”. But critics warn that police bosses must not be given free rein – claiming there is a “wild west” in the use of AI.
MPs have previously voiced concern about accuracy – particularly affecting Black and minority ethnic groups and women – and claimed the UK is “veering dangerously close to becoming a police state”. The Met Police says 1,300 arrests have been made using facial recognition technology – including rapists, domestic abusers and violent criminals.
READ MORE: Parents to save money on baby formula in new crackdown, Keir Starmer announcesREAD MORE: Police will be ‘relentless’ in winter crime blitz, minister warns
And more than 100 sex offenders were found breaching their license conditions. However earlier this year watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) described the Met’s policy on live facial recognition as “unlawful”.
It said rules and safeguards “fall short” and could have a “chilling effect” on people attending protests. The Home Office today launches a consultation on how the technology should be used.
Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones, said: “Facial recognition is the biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching. It has already helped take thousands of dangerous criminals off our streets and has huge potential to strengthen how the police keep us safe.
“We will expand its use so that forces can put more criminals behind bars and tackle crime in their communities.” In March fixed facial recognition cameras were installed in central Croydon in South London – meaning scanned faces could be checked against police wanted lists.
The Met said biometric data of members of the public who are not wanted is immediately deleted. The Home Office said the consultation will pave the way for all police forces to make more use of technology, which can be used in three ways.
Software can be used to retrospectively identify faces from CCTV, mobile phone or video footage. It can also be used using live video footage from cameras, as well as a mobile app that lets officers check someone’s identity without having to arrest them.
As part of the Home Office proposals, a new regulator will be created – but its responsibilities have yet to be defined. It comes days after a report by campaign group Justice warned the UK risks becoming an AI “wild west” if 43 police forces “continue to experiment” without transparency, technical standards and legal clarity.
And it warned that racial recognition technologies have repeatedly been found to be less accurate for darker-skinned people and women, risking wrongful arrests. Ellen Lefley, Senior Lawyer at Justice, said: “The relentless pace of change, financial pressures to policing, plus the lack of any clear standards creates an AI wild west.
“Responsible AI in policing will not happen by accident.” Home Office research found 97% of people think retrospective facial recognition is the most acceptable use of the technology.
And 88% think it is “at least sometimes” acceptable for police to use live facial recognition to locate suspects. The department splashed out £12.6million on facial recognition last year – with £2.8million on live capabilities, including mobile vans and fixed-location pilots.
Backers say previous concerns about software struggling to identify Black and minority ethnic groups have been ironed out – but concerns remain. Research by the National Physical Laboratory found there is “no statistical significance” between performance identifying people based on age, race and sex.
Neil Basu, former head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said live facial recognition is a “massive step forward” for law enforcement. He went on: “The live facial recognition system was, but no longer is, discriminatory but it will still require proper legal safeguards and oversight by the surveillance commissioner.
“Every use has a police officer safety net, there to check that the identification is correct and prevent miscarriages of justice.” MPs have previously demanded the use of live facial recognition is paused.
Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said: “We’re veering dangerously close to becoming a police state with levels of surveillance that would only be deemed acceptable in the most autheritarian police states.
“It’s not a matter of ‘those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear’, it’s a matter of our basic privacy.” Ms Ribeiro-Addy told a Westminster Hall debate: “People of colour are already disproportionately stopped and searched and the use of potentially flawed technology will only increase the rate at which ethnic minorities are stopped, further damaging trust in police in this community.”
Lindsey Chiswick, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for facial recognition, said: “This technology makes officers more effective and delivers more arrests than would otherwise be possible.
“Live facial recognition is making a real difference in keeping communities safe.”
