Met praises ‘vital’ facial recognition, but report warns of potential legal breaches

The Met police have said Facial Recognition is “vital” to public safety, but a new report has raised warnings over the potential use of illegally stored images.

Live Facial Recognition (LFR) systems cross check a live camera feed of faces against a database of known identities and custody images to make arrests.

Last week, the force announced that 540 people wanted for criminal offences have been arrested using the controversial technology.

Of those arrested, 406 have been charged or cautioned, 95 have been released on bail or under investigation and 39 received no further action.

More than 300 of the 540 arrests were for failing to appear at court, with more than 50 sex offenders arrested for breaching their court conditions. 

Around 50 arrests were for alleged offences involving violence against women and girls (VAWG), including strangulation, stalking, domestic abuse, and rape. 

Lindsey Chiswick, the Met’s director of performance, said: “LFR is a powerful tool that supports officers to identify and focus on people who present the highest risk that may otherwise have gone undetected.

“LFR is a vital part of making the Met a modern police service and delivering our mission to make communities safer.”     

Last week the ­biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner released their annual report, which warned against the potential use of illegally stored images for LFR.

In 2012, the high court ruled that keeping the images of people who faced no action or who were charged and then acquitted was unlawful.

But, the report said images of innocent people are still on the police national database, which is available to all UK police forces. The images can be used for facial recognition checks of potential suspects.

The report added that work was “under way” to ensure the retention of images was proportionate and lawful.

But, the commissioner said: “To gain public trust and confidence there needs to be more transparency about how technology is deployed. Increased stakeholder and public engagement is critical.”

Big Brother Watch (BBW), a campaign group, has described the deployment of the technology as “dangerously authoritarian”.

Senior advocacy officer of BBW, Madeline Stone said: “The Met should be deleting these images, but police forces have claimed it’s too difficult. That’s unacceptable.”

Ms Stone said that using technology can distance police from criticism and “encourage a lack of accountability”.

A spokeswoman from the Met said: “The Met is aware of the judgment referred to and of the subsequent judgments relating to the retention of police information, and has fully considered their implications for LFR.

“The Met utilises a watchlist to locate ‘sought persons’ which is compiled using images of people it holds who are wanted by the police or courts, and those with court imposed conditions or Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements. 

“The need to locate people within these categories provides a clear policing purpose for the use of these images in LFR deployments, and the Met is satisfied that the use of such images for LFR is lawful.”

(Picture: The Met)