Talks on live surveillance ongoing in UK, recordings work fine for Dutch cops

The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, Dr. Brian Plastow, welcomes ongoing discussions between the UK and Scotland about the future of live facial recognition technology.

The Labor government plans to conduct a series of discussions on the use of LFR technology by police before the end of the year.

The dialogue follows the announcement that the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland and the Commissioner will hold tripartite discussions on the potential benefits and risks of LFR. The three parties co-hosted the first ever “Biometrics in Criminal Justice Conference” in Edinburgh in June, where they agreed to the talks.

Meanwhile, in Romford, London, the Metropolitan Police reported four arrests following the deployment of live facial recognition systems at key public locations, Romford Recorder reports. The technology successfully flagged individuals wanted for offenses including robbery and serious assault.

When it came to identifying suspects involved in the past summer’s riots, Northumbria Police utilized retrospective facial recognition, leading to several arrests in Sunderland following the disorder on August 2, the BBC reports. The force reported analyzing over 10,000 hours of CCTV footage using advanced facial recognition software that they say can identify people wearing masks to support their investigation.

Northumbria Police emphasized the effectiveness of the technology in aiding their efforts to maintain public safety, but the debate over privacy and oversight continues.

Data privacy concerns that footage from police body cameras could be searched with retrospective facial recognition, which is not built in, have delayed their rollout in Scotland

Dutch police report retrospective gains

In the Netherlands, Dutch police reported identifying 424 suspects using a forensic facial recognition system called CATCH in 2023. The system, which matches images from surveillance footage against a database of known individuals, was credited with solving a range of crimes, from burglaries to violent offenses, NL Times reports.

Operated by the Dutch Center for Biometrics in Zoetermeer, CATCH — short for Central Automated Technology for Recognition — relies on a specialized database of facial images gathered during criminal investigations. This database includes photographs of both suspects and convicted individuals. Police submitted 1,693 images as part of criminal investigations, only 1,033 of which were deemed suitable for comparison. The 424 matches represented a marked increase from 104 in 2022.

Dutch officials emphasized that they do not use live facial recognition, as well as their adherence to the country’s Police Data Act. Yet, like their counterparts in the UK, they face criticism over the lack of public awareness and the potential for misuse.

Civil liberties organizations are urging governments to adopt comprehensive policies that address algorithmic transparency, data retention, and public accountability.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  data privacy  |  facial recognition  |  Netherlands  |  police  |  real-time biometrics  |  Scotland  |  Scottish Biometrics Commissioner  |  UK