Scottish Biometrics Commissioner launches strategic plan, 4 police reviews

A better public understanding of how police in Scotland use biometrics and a series of reviews to provide assurance that they are doing so according to the law are central pillars of Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr. Brian Plastow’s plan for the next four years.

The “4-Year Strategic Plan 2025/29” sets out the strategic objectives and priorities of the Commissioner’s Office for the specified period, listing four goals for each year. The plan also reviews the National Assessment Framework for biometric data outcomes, which consists of 42 quality indicators.

The reviews will look at Police Scotland’s acquisition, retention, use, and destruction of fingerprint biometrics, forensic imaging, biometric data obtained through digital forensics techniques and open-source methods and body worn cameras.

Plastow’s goal with the first review is “to provide assurance to the Scottish Parliament that the acquisition, retention, use, and destruction of fingerprints for policing and criminal justice purposes in Scotland is lawful, effective, and ethical,” according to a separate planning document.

The terms of reference for the fingerprint review are set out in a 9-page document, including the context provided by previous legal challenges of fingerprint biometrics in Scotland, as well as its methodology and scope. A three-month fieldwork phase is already underway and due for completion by the end of the month. The report will be drafted in December, checked and published in January and February. Submission to Scottish Parliament follows in the week of March 16 or sooner.

The reviews and public engagement efforts could increase transparency, and therefore accountability and trust.

They will be carried out just as the country is debating the adoption of live facial recognition by the police, which Plastow supports, but the SNP opposes. The public is split, but that could change if Plastow and his reviews engender more confidence that Scottish police are handling biometrics responsibly.

Plastow recently noted that police in Scotland are collecting less biometric data from children, saying that it is a sign the national Code of Practice for biometrics is working well.

His term runs until April 11, 2029 at the latest, but the plan runs through November of that year, giving his successor some time to complete the plan and formulate the next one.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  law enforcement  |  Police Scotland  |  Scotland  |  Scottish Biometrics Commissioner