Home Office expands police use of live facial recognition with 10 new vans

The Home Office has announced that ten new Live Facial Recognition (LFR) vans are being rolled out to seven police forces across England. These new LFR vans are to be deployed in the coming weeks to Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Sussex, and Thames Valley and Hampshire. The rollout is being coordinated by the National Police Chiefs Council and South Wales Police, with each force determining their specific deployment in line with College of Policing guidance, which was first published in March 2022.

Alongside the deployment of the new LFR vans, the government has confirmed that it will launch a consultation in the autumn to gather public views on the appropriate use, safeguards, and oversight of the technology. It stated that this feedback will help shape a new legal framework for LFR to ensure transparency and public confidence.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said: "Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) does not operate in a legal vacuum. It is covered by data protection law, which requires any use of personal data, including biometric data, to be lawful, fair and proportionate. When used by the police, FRT must be deployed in a way that respects people's rights and freedoms, with appropriate safeguards in place.

"FRT is a priority for the ICO due to its potential benefits and risks. We play an important role ensuring police are compliant with data protection law and that people's rights are protected, including by providing clear guidance on the use of FRT and undertaking regular audits of police forces, so that the public can have confidence in how the technology is used. We have recently concluded our audit of South Wales Police and Gwent Police and will be sharing our findings shortly."

Not all reactions were favourable, digital rights group Big Brother Watch (BBW) condemned the move as a "frightening expansion" of the technology, while claiming that it is "worrying for our democracy". In a statement, BBW Interim Director Rebecca Vincent said: "This unprecedented escalation in the use of facial recognition technology across the UK is alarming, and represents a significant expansion of the surveillance state. Live facial recognition turns every passerby into a walking barcode and treats us all as a nation of suspects.

"Police have interpreted the absence of any legislative basis authorising the use of this intrusive technology as carte blanche to continue to roll it out unfettered, despite the fact that a crucial judicial review on the matter is pending.

"This move is not only worrying for our privacy rights, it is worrying for our democracy. The Home Office must scrap its plans to roll out further live facial recognition capacity until robust legislative safeguards are established."