Police Scotland is ‘actively considering’ the use of live facial recognition technology, according to newly-published minutes of a meeting between the force’s leadership and the Scottish Government.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell outlined the case for using the controversial technology to tackle football-related disorder, in a meeting with justice secretary Neil Gray.
During the August meeting, the details of which were published this week, the justice secretary asked for views on comments by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) about using the tech to help tackle crowd disturbances at games.
In response, Farrell noted that the technology is already used by several police forces elsewhere in the UK, as well as by Border Force in England and Wales. She pointed to its benefits in helping to identify high-risk individuals and supporting wider public safety.
She also acknowledged the ethical considerations around the technology, and noted that a ‘national conversation‘ on its potential use has taken place in Scotland. According to the minutes, Police Scotland is giving the issue “active consideration”. Any proposal, however, would require a clear business case and would go through the Scottish Police Authority’s governance processes.
The minutes do not record any response from Mr Gray to the Chief Constable’s comments.
Live facial recognition compares faces captured by cameras in real time against a watchlist of images. The meeting concerned possible use and the process for considering a proposal, rather than approval of any deployment.
The HMICS comments followed disorder at the Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox in March. The inspectorate’s annual report called for stronger measures to keep banned individuals out of matches, and suggested government action if football’s governing bodies did not put an appropriate regime in place. The meeting also covered work with the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Professional Football League, and the role clubs should play in improving safety and behaviour at matches.
The issue of oversight remains unresolved. In his latest annual report, Scotland’s Biometrics Commissioner – Dr Brian Plastow – warned that Scotland has no legislation covering live facial recognition. That means any UK policing body deploying it in Scotland would fall outside his oversight. His advice to Holyrood is that “Police Scotland should have proportionate and equitable access to such technologies in the future”. Dr Plastow has argued that primary legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament is vital, while Scottish ministers have previously said any future deployment would be an operational matter for the chief constable.
Police Scotland already plans to adopt a separate technology, retrospective facial search, in the early phase of a UK-wide rollout starting in 2026/27.
The minutes also record the Justice Secretary stressing the importance of better data integration across operational partners, during a discussion of Police Scotland’s 2027-28 budget submission.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As we have said previously, the deployment of new technology would be an operational matter for the chief constable under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority, provided it complies with data protection laws, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner’s statutory Code of Practice.
“Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority are leading a national conversation on the use of live facial recognition technology in Scotland.”
It is understood Police Scotland is set to trial the use of the technology next month in what force insiders have called an ‘internal demo’, with no impact on the public.
Assistant Chief Constable David Ferry, Police Scotland, said: “We have a duty to use new technologies to safeguard our communities. New technologies can offer transformative opportunities for modern policing, through supporting investigations and identification.
“Our consideration of live facial recognition, working with the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, continues.
“We are considering next steps following on from responses to our consultation on the Biometrics Strategy, published earlier this month, which highlighted both public support for and the need for assurance, governance and scrutiny around our potential use of new technologies. A demonstration of the current LFR technology is to take place in November 2026, which will help inform any submissions to the SPA.”