Scotland’s biometrics commissioner has renewed his call for new legislation to govern the use of live facial recognition technology in policing.
Dr Brian Plastow, who has occupied the post since it was created by statute in 2021, says the technology has an ‘important’ future role to play in the fight against serious and violent crimes in Scotland.
He said while Police Scotland had not yet used LFR technology, other UK policing bodies which operate in Scotland – including the British Transport Police – already had access to the crime-fighting and surveillance tool.
He said the lack of Scottish legislation meant that should any of these policing bodies decide to deploy LFR technology in Scotland, they would not come under his oversight.
Dr Plastow said: “None of these UK policing bodies fall within the jurisdiction of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Act 2020, and no tangible progress has been made by Scottish Government officials to align such policing activities in Scotland with the commissioner’s oversight.
“The UK Home Office is currently making live facial recognition technology available through a multi-million investment that will make it available to every police force in England and Wales.
“There is also commercial investment south of the border, such as the English Premier League providing £3.42 million to the Metropolitan Police to trial it at top-flight football matches in London.
“My advice to the Scottish Parliament continues to be that Police Scotland should have proportionate and equitable access to such technologies in the future.”
He added: “This will be important in responding to the threats posed by serious and organised crime groups, for counterterrorism purposes, to address the UK-wide challenge of county lines drug dealing, and as part of a strategic policing response to the national emergency of male violence towards women and girls in Scotland.
“While I acknowledge the controversial nature of biometric-enabled public space surveillance, I would encourage Scottish Ministers to bring forward primary legislation for its future use in Scotland to mirror similar proposals in England and Wales.”
The Home Office launched a consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of ‘biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies’ in December last year.
This proposed legislation aims to replace an outdated patchwork of common law powers and data protection rules with clear statutory boundaries and a single regulatory oversight body.
Scottish Government Ministers have previously stated that any future deployment of LFR technology would be an ‘operational matter for the Chief Constable’, and would technically be covered by the biometrics ‘code of practice’ in Scotland.
However, Dr Plastow said: “LFR technology is highly intrusive and constitutes mass public surveillance, so it is my view that primary legislation is the best route to deliver safeguards capable of ensuring both public acceptance and legitimacy.”
Dr Plastow published his annual report today, which includes a review of how fingerprints are collected, used and destroyed, a review of the code of practice itself, and a new four-year strategic plan.
He is also arguing for his powers to be extended. They currently are limited to policing bodies alone in Scotland, unlike in England and Wales where governance has a broader scope, with the Surveillance Camera Commissioner and the Forensic Science Regulator.
He added: “There is an opportunity for low-cost expansion of remit given that biometric data is shared extensively by criminal justice partners throughout the entire criminal justice ecosystem in Scotland, including in prisons.
“Given the inexorable rise of AI-enabled public space surveillance and the increasing complexity and connectivity of biometric data over agency boundaries – including through initiatives such as the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) – it seems illogical for independent oversight not to cover the agencies sharing biometric data within a criminal justice ecosystem that sits within the portfolio of a single cabinet secretary for justice.”
Scotland’s network of public safety cameras operated by local authorities and community safety partnerships – including opportunities to develop a public safety camera code of practice for Scotland – is another possible area for expansion of the commissioner’s remit.
Last year, SNP party activists also called for primary legislation governing the use of live facial recognition technologies, so that it would be compatible with European human rights and AI laws.