Scottish public support the use of biometrics in policing, Commissioner survey says

The latest survey of the Scottish public’s attitudes to police use of biometrics data has shown only “modest” improvement.

The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner carried out a 2025 survey and found some instances of slight improvement in levels of public confidence in the use of biometrics data and technologies for policing and criminal justice purposes in Scotland. This is relative to initial polling conducted in 2021.

At the broadest level, a significant majority of Scots agree about the effectiveness of biometric data at helping the police solve crimes. For example, 92 percent say they understand the rationale for retaining fingerprints, DNA and photographs of people who have been arrested in Scotland. In addition, 64 percent of people say such material should be kept forever, 14 percent say such material should be kept for more than 30 years but not forever, 9 percent say it shouldn’t be kept for more than 15 years or not retained at all. Another six percent said they did not know.

There is strong support for the use of technology by police in public spaces to help recognize faces and identify persons who may be wanted by police, with 72 percent of people agreeing with this. This is an increase of six percent from 2021. Women were more supportive, with 77 percent of female respondents agreeing, which is an increase from 69 percent in 2021 — while only 67 percent of males were supportive of its use, an increase from 61 percent in 2021.

A similar disparity was evident in 2021, with the report suggesting that females may feel “more comfortable, or safer, with facial recognition in Scotland, than males would,” and that with the majority of Scottish offences being perpetrated by males, that this perhaps “should come as no surprise.”

Perhaps surprisingly, 73 percent of the Scottish public agree with the police taking fingerprints, photographs and DNA from children and young people under 16 years of age where they have been arrested in Scotland. The survey was carried out in collaboration with the Scottish Police Authority and Diffley Partnership.

With the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) considering whether to use live facial recognition (LFR), and holding a nationwide conversation on its potential use, Equality Network is urging the SPA to not progress further with the introduction of LFR. In a letter, the charity put forward its concerns over human rights, disproportionate impact, inaccuracies and bias, and the potential negative impact of LFR on LGBTQIA+ people, a group for which Equality Network supports.

“It is our view that LFR should not be adopted by Police Scotland,” the letter says. “However, if Police Scotland chooses to proceed with its introduction, there should be robust safeguards, regulation and oversight to avoid unlawful human rights interference.”

Police Scotland’s five-year digitalization plan includes real-time biometric analytics and body-worn video cameras, which are set to be rolled out this year. The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner and local law enforcement agencies launched a consultation on police use of LFR last month.

In March, Scotland’s Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow warned that a significant number of the custody images held in national police databases are too poor quality for effective face biometrics matching. This applied to images collected between 2019 and 2024 and resulted in only two percent of Police Scotland’s face biometrics searches returning a potential match.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  facial recognition  |  police  |  Scotland  |  Scottish Biometrics Commissioner