English and Welsh police have set up a facial recognition database containing images of individuals never charged with criminal offences and others who have been cleared of charges, according to a BBC Newsnight article by Nick Hopkins and Jake Morris. They report that an independent commissioner has warned that such images may number in the “hundreds of thousands”, as 18 million photos have been uploaded.It appears that the police forces proceeded with the project despite a High Court ruling in 2012 warned Metropolitan Police to revise their policies on this kind of thing. But police insist that their database in in compliance with the Data Protection Act, and deny that they’ve overstepped their legal mandate. Speaking to the reporters, an official with the Association of Chief Police Officers suggested that it’s up to lawmakers to be more specific in their legislation, asserting, “If Parliament chooses to… regulate our use of photographs over and above that which we already have, then I’m more than happy.”
Law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology is on the rise, providing both a groundbreaking new resource for police investigations and unprecedented real-time surveillance capabilities. But as it has proliferated, there have been rising concerns about privacy and civil rights issues, most recently with respect to wearable cameras. Such debates would seem to be unavoidable as police forces embrace these powerful new tools, but all concerned hope for a constructive dialogue that will find the right balance going forward.
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February 3, 2015 – by Alex Perala
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