Big Brother Watch responds to watchdog warning that facial recognition risks wrongful arrests

The policing inspectorate has found that police use of retrospective facial recognition risks the wrongful arrest of innocent people, that the algorithm in use is more likely to misidentify people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and that forces are not recording how they use it.

The report issues sixteen recommendations and finds that:

• Innocent people are at risk of being wrongfully arrested
• The police are continuing to use an algorithm they know has a higher risk of misidentifying people from ethnic minority backgrounds
• Some officers have been treating facial recognition probability scoring as entirely accurate, and failing to make follow-up inquiries to confirm
• Forces are not recording how the technology is being used, meaning people could wrongfully become suspects without a documented reason

The report makes clear that “Legislation hasn’t kept up with developments in facial recognition technology, which is contributing to uncertainty and a fragmented approach. While national bodies have provided some guidance and oversight, arrangements remain underdeveloped”.

In response, Jasleen Chaggar, Senior Legal & Policy Officer for Big Brother Watch said:

“The revelations that officers are treating facial recognition as bona fide evidence rather than a probability score is alarming.

“This approach significantly increases the risk that more innocent people will have officers knock on their door to arrest them for crimes committed in towns they’ve never visited, as we’ve seen before.

“Worse still, police aren’t even logging their use of retrospective facial recognition, meaning people could wrongfully become suspects in criminal investigations without any record of why they’ve been accused.

“There may be a place for retrospective facial recognition, if it’s limited in the same way as DNA and fingerprinting. But in the meantime, police cannot be allowed to continue using the algorithm with so few safeguards and at biased settings that are more likely to misidentify women, Asian and Black people and search against millions of unlawfully held custody images.

“The government must urgently step in and introduce strong safeguards through its much-promised legal framework, instead of handing the police a blank cheque to operate this technology without any democratic oversight.”

Notes

• Spokespeople are available for interview. Please direct enquiries or requests for interviews to info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk or 07730439257
• Report published here, coverage in the Guardian here
• More detail on Big Brother Watch’s work on facial recognition is available on our website
• The Government is expected to bring forward legislation to regulate facial recognition in the Police Reform Bill. Big Brother Watch, in conjunction with technology experts and civil liberties campaign groups have provided the Home Office with recommendations for minimum, necessary safeguards, available here
• Previous examples of wrongful arrests include Alvi Choudhury was held for nine hours and a roofer in Harlesden who was taken to court

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