The rules on police facial recognition cameras will be updated to make sure it is ‘clear’ when the controversial technology can be deployed, the police minister said.
Sarah Jones backed use of facial recognition cameras and implied they are set for huge expansion.
She told Labour Party conference the technology will be ‘very important in the future’ and suggested it could one day be ‘rolled out across the country’.
But she admitted there ‘isn’t really much of a structure’ around use of the camera systems, which critics say are discriminatory and an Orwellian invasion of privacy.
The cameras can give police live intelligence about passers-by, matching their faces with records of ‘wanted’ suspects on the Police National Computer.
‘We need to put some parameters around what we can use facial recognition for,’ Ms Jones told a fringe meeting at the conference in Liverpool.
‘There has been some advice on how we use it. But we need to go further to make sure it’s clear when it should be used and when it shouldn’t be used, to put some structure around it.
Police minister Sarah Jones said facial recognition cameras may one day be ‘rolled out across the country’ and – ahead of any such expansion – rules on their use must be reviewed
‘Because there isn’t really much of a structure around what it’s used for at the moment.
‘We need to look at whether that’s enough and whether we need to do more.
‘We’re going to consult on what that should look like, so we can assure the public that it’s being used in the right way.’
The Home Office will launch a new consultation later this year, she revealed.
The minister said police facial recognition pilots in her constituency – Croydon West, in south London – had been ‘very successful in catching very serious criminals’ including rapists who had been on the run.
Ms Jones went on: ‘We just need to make sure it’s clear what it’s going to be used for going forward.
A Metropolitan Police vehicle equipped with live facial recognition cameras
‘If we are going to use it more, if we do want to roll it out across the country, what are the parameters?
‘Let’s make sure people understand that it’s a conversation we need to have, because people have raised it as an issue, both parliamentarians and the public, and they want to understand how this is going to be used.’
Previous problems with the camera technology mis-identifying ethnic minorities with dark skin have been largely addressed, the minister said.
‘The Met came to Croydon and explained how the technology has changed over time. It is now incredibly accurate,’ she said.
‘The only time there had been an inaccurate identification was when there was one with an identical twin.’
The minister declined to speculate on whether the new consultation would only look broadly at when facial recognition cameras should be deployed, or at more detailed issues such as the cameras’ capabilities.
It comes as similar live recognition technology is being rolled out by local authorities, including Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, and by supermarkets.
