Police use ‘deeply invasive’ facial recognition cameras, sparks privacy warning from activists

Plans to introduce police cameras scanning people’s faces have been described as “deeply invasive” and dangerous by a coalition of international privacy organisations.

Police in Scotland are considering introducing cameras to crack down on shoplifters and bail breachers.

Last week the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that officers in patrol cars would monitor live scans and check images against a database.

However, concerns have been raised that “Orwellian” technology will have a negative impact on civil liberties.

Now a coalition of the world’s leading privacy advocates has written to Justice Secretary Angela Constance demanding that she withdraw the proposals.

A coalition of international privacy campaign groups wrote to Justice Secretary Angela Constance

Big Brother Watch, Liberty, Privacy International, Race Equality First, Defend Digital Me, Open Rights Group, Statewatch and Stopwatch have signed a letter saying AI “inverts the fundamental democratic principle of the presumption of innocence, where suspicion precedes observation, and instead treats everyone who walks by as a potential criminal.”

They warned that Scotland was at risk of following in the footsteps of Russia and China, authoritarian regimes that have invested in the technology “to the detriment of the rights and freedoms of their citizens”.

Scotland’s Biometrics Commissioner Brian Plastow said there were circumstances in which “chief constables should have the option to use such technology in the future as a strategic or tactical option for potential deployment”.

This is a suggestion that Big Brother Watch called it “Orwellian.”

They wrote: “We call on the Scottish Government to reconsider its plans to adopt this dystopian technology and adopt an approach that respects the rights to privacy and free speech, as well as the rights of those marginalised groups most affected by the use of this technology.”

The alliance also said data from England and Wales, where the software is already in use, showed incorrect matches in 75% of cases, raising concerns about mistaken identity, as well as racial discrimination and privacy breaches.

This prompted a warning that reliance on computer evidence could lead to a miscarriage of justice scandal along the lines of the Post Office case.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The decision to use any facial recognition technology is an operational matter for Police Scotland, which complies with all relevant legislation, including the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner’s Code of Practice.”