Welsh police launch facial recognition app despite privacy concerns
Welsh police forces launched a mobile facial recognition app that allows officers to identify individuals in near real-time, marking the first such deployment in the UK. Civil rights groups warned that the technology could breach privacy rights and may disproportionately target ethnic minorities, given concerns about unlawfully stored photos in police databases.
What happened
South Wales Police and Gwent Police launched the Operator Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR) app, which allows officers to photograph a person's face with a mobile phone and match it against a police database in near real-time. The app had been tested by 70 officers across South Wales before deployment.
Reported impact
Big Brother Watch warned that the app creates a 'dangerous imbalance' between the public's rights and the police's powers. The group claimed that South Wales Police would search against thousands of unlawfully held photos of innocent people every time they conduct a face scan, and alleged the force has disproportionately targeted ethnic minorities for face scans.
Index analysis
Rights groups expressed concern that police could conduct searches against photos of innocent people stored in national databases. A 2012 high court decision found that keeping custody images of people who faced no charge or were charged and then acquitted is unlawful, yet regulators and rights groups have warned for years that police continue to store such images.
Governance controls
Police stated that photos taken using the app would not be retained, and those taken in private places such as houses, schools, medical facilities and places of worship would only be used in situations relating to a risk of significant harm. Police also noted that the use of this technology always involves human decision-making and oversight.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.