Bedfordshire Police welcomes Government announcement of stronger laws on facial recognition technology
Bedfordshire Police says it welcomes the Government’s announcement of stronger laws around the use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology.
The Government says it is creating an independent watchdog to provide oversight of police use of the technology, and that forces could be stopped from using it if they fail to comply.
A specific law is also being introduced to make it clear that police use of the technology must be intelligence-led and proportionate.
The changes follow a public consultation that highlights a need for stronger safeguards around the extent of its use.
Bedfordshire Police said it had made more than 100 arrests with help from the technology, during its first year of operation.
Chief Superintendent Ian Taylor, the force’s strategic lead for LFR told us: “Any legislative changes that look to improve public trust and confidence in policing and its tactics is a welcome one.
“Like many other forces, our Live Facial Recognition deployments are already subject to a thorough review before authorisation is granted by a senior officer.
“This includes ensuring the legality, proportionality and necessity of each deployment and giving full regard to the European Convention on Human Rights.
“We have also worked closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner and his office on the launch of their Artificial Intelligence Advisory Ethics Panel, which provides independent scrutiny of the force’s use of AI including our LFR deployments.
“LFR remains a supportive tool, that is led by specially trained officers - not the other way round.
“Following any alert our first step is to engage with that individual and confirm their identity in the same way we would without the technology.
“The traditional methods of policing remain effective and employed, LFR only enhances this.
“To date, there have been no false positive alerts, this is easily attributed to the national guidance which our team are stringent in adhering to.
“In addition to regular reviews by the independent advisory panel, internally, each deployment is debriefed and data is shared with the national taskforce - our deployment data is also published on our website.
“We remain in a position to adjust our deployments and revise our policies as required and in line with national guidance.”
Explaining the changes, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Facial recognition technology has been the biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching, already helping police take thousands of dangerous criminals off our streets.
“The benefits are clear, but we must ensure that its use is fair, safe and proportionate.
“It is right we put in place clear laws to ensure that the use of this technology is watertight, so the public can have confidence that these tools, which are vital to our safety, are used responsibly too.”
Bedfordshire Police has announced dates for deployments of the technology throughout the county this month.
It is due to be used in Luton town centre tomorrow (Saturday), as well as on November 12, November 20, November 24 and November 28.
Deployments are also planned for Bedford town centre today (Friday), as well as on November 11, November 18, November 25 and November 29.
The technology is also due to be used in Dunstable town centre on Thursday November 19.