Sir (Maldon) (Con):...Any fan
of Hollywood movies would think that the use of facial
recognition technology is widespread, as in “The Bourne
Ultimatum” and “Spooks”, and that it is commonplace for MI5 and
the CIA to tap into CCTV cameras across London. I do not believe
that is correct— I hope it is not—but police forces are using
facial recognition technology more and more. It was first used in
2017, and it is now commonly used by the Metropolitan police,
South Wales
Police and now my own police force in Essex, which
purchased two vans in August and use it regularly...
(Dewsbury and Batley)
(Ind):...Let me cite some examples of the technology's inefficacy
and unreliability. In 2020, the Court of Appeal found that
South Wales police's use of facial recognition
technology was unlawful, and that the force had breached privacy
rights and failed to adequately assess the risks to individual
freedoms. The technology's accuracy is not infallible:
misidentifications can lead to miscarriages of justice, where
innocent individuals are wrongly accused or detained...
(Croydon South) (Con):...There
should be protections, of course. Several hon. Members, including
my right hon. Friend the Member for Maldon, have rightly said
that there should be guidelines, rules and procedures. However,
it is not true that there is a complete vacuum as far as rules
and regulations are concerned. The Bridges case at the Court of
Appeal in 2020 looked at how South Wales
Police were using the technology between 2017 and 2020.
It found that some of the ways they were using the technology
were not appropriate because they broke rules on things like data
protection privacy. It set out in case law the guidelines that
have to be adhered to for the technology to be lawful—things like
public signage, the rate of accuracy and having no racial bias...
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame ):...Let me quickly run
through the current use and benefits of live facial recognition,
which, as we have discussed, allows the police to spot people in
crowds. It uses live video footage of crowds passing a camera and
compares their images to a specific watchlist of people wanted by
the police. As well as Essex police, who we have heard about, the
Metropolitan police and South Wales
Police have been using this technology for a number
of years. In fact, as the shadow Home Secretary said, I was due
to go and see one of the deployments this morning, but then this
debate was scheduled, so I am going to see it for myself this
afternoon instead.
I am told by the Metropolitan police that between January and
November this year they made over 460 arrests as a result of live
facial recognition deployments, including for offences such as
rape, domestic abuse, knife crime and violent robbery. In
addition, over 45 registered sex offenders have been arrested for
breaching their conditions. South Wales
Police tell me that between January and November, they
deployed live facial recognition locally on 20 occasions,
resulting in 12 arrests. They also located a high-risk missing
young girl, who they were able to safeguard from child sexual
exploitation and criminal exploitation. Essex police, as the
right hon. Member for Maldon has attested, have also had
considerable success in their use of this technology...
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