{"id":612154,"date":"2023-02-26T08:49:06","date_gmt":"2023-02-26T14:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/26\/uk-police-have-culture-of-retention-around-biometric-data\/"},"modified":"2023-02-26T08:49:06","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T14:49:06","slug":"uk-police-have-culture-of-retention-around-biometric-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/26\/uk-police-have-culture-of-retention-around-biometric-data\/","title":{"rendered":"UK police have \u2018culture of retention\u2019 around biometric data"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"content-header\">\n<h2>A culture of retention around biometric data in UK policing is damaging public trust, says UK biometrics commissioner, who is calling for clear regulation to govern police use of biometric technologies<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-center\">\n<ul>\n<li><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i data-icon=\"2\"><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"contributors-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"Sebastian Klovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/contributor\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton\">Sebastian Klovig Skelton,<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Senior reporter<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tPublished: <span>24 Feb 2023 12:00<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"content-body\">\n<p>The UK\u2019s biometrics commissioner, Fraser Sampson, has told MPs and Lords there is a \u201cnon-deletion culture\u201d in policing with regards to the retention of people\u2019s biometric information, even when they are not convicted of a crime.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing Parliament\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/committees.parliament.uk\/work\/7292\/biometrics-and-surveillance-camera-commissioner\">Joint Committee on Human Rights<\/a> (JCHR) on 22 February 2023, Sampson said the default in UK policing was to hang onto biometric information, regardless of whether it was legally allowed. \u201cIt\u2019s really clear, and I think it\u2019s occurred on every visit we did to every police force,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>When asked to define biometric information, Sampson said that while there is \u201ca drift towards excluding lots of things\u201d from the definition of biometrics by certain groups, notably the UK government, it should include \u201cany unique manifestation \u2026 that can be accurately measured, recorded and compared with other records\u201d for the purposes of identifying an individual. This would include any data related to a person\u2019s gait, voice, face, DNA or prints.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the proliferation of biometric surveillance tools \u2013 many of which use artificial intelligence (AI) in some capacity \u2013 brings up a number of human rights concerns around, for example, bias and discrimination against groups or individuals, privacy, freedom of movement, and freedom of assembly or speech.<\/p>\n<p>Less discussed, said Sampson, was the positive obligation of the state to prevent citizens from suffering inhumane or degrading treatment, which he contends biometrics could help with.<\/p>\n<p>However, he said, even in instances where a person is never convicted after an arrest, police will still retain biometric information in the form of custody images (which can then be used to populate facial recognition watch lists, for example), DNA and fingerprints.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was challenged back in 2012 \u2026 and the trial judge in that said \u2018you need to get rid of that \u2013 you can\u2019t retain them if people have done nothing wrong or are of no further interest\u2019,\u201d said Sampson.<\/p>\n<p>The 2012 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/JCO\/Documents\/Judgments\/r-rmc-fj-metropolitan-police-commissioner-22062012.pdf\">High Court ruling<\/a> specifically found the retention of custody images by the Metropolitan Police to be unlawful on the basis that information about unconvicted people was being treated in the same way as information about people who were ultimately convicted, and that the six-year retention period was disproportionate.<\/p>\n<p>However, despite the ruling being handed down in 2012, the same problems are persisting, which is ultimately damaging public trust.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m here today saying there are probably several million of those records still,\u201d he said, adding that the response from policing bodies and the Home Office (which owns most of the biometric database used by UK police) is to point out the information is held on a database with no bulk deletion capability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not sure that works for public trust and confidence, but even if it did \u2026 you can\u2019t [legally] rely on a flaw in a database you built for unlawfully retaining stuff \u2026 that\u2019s a technical problem that\u2019s of the country\u2019s and the police\u2019s making rather than the people whose images you\u2019ve kept.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The same issue was brought up by Sampson\u2019s predecessor, Paul Wiles, in March 2019, when he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252460016\/UK-police-should-not-deploy-live-facial-recogntion-technology-until-issues-are-resolved-MPs-told\">highlighted the retention of custody images as a major problem<\/a> to the Science and Technology Committee. Wiles later called on Parliament to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252503405\/UK-needs-legislation-with-specific-focus-on-biometric-technologies\">explicitly legislate on the use of biometric technologies<\/a> to provide greater clarity on how police could use people\u2019s sensitive information.<\/p>\n<p>Sampson said that while some forces have now started issuing \u201cdischarge information\u201d to people being released from custody that outlines how they can have their facial images deleted, the onus to pursue deletion is still on the individual rather than the police.<\/p>\n<p>He added that when deletion is pursued by an individual, there also needs to be confidence that it will actually happen. \u201cAs well as having the wherewithal, capability and understanding to make the application, you also need to have confidence that will make any difference and that it will be done,\u201d said Sampson. \u201cIt may be that some groups [in society] have less confidence in it making any difference and being heeded than others.\u201d<\/p>\n<section data-menu-title=\"Exponential information recording\">\n<h3><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i>Exponential information recording<\/h3>\n<p>The proliferation of digital technologies also means the information police can now know and record about a person \u201chave magnified exponentially\u201d, which Sampson said is happening \u201cwithout any real rules or legislation beyond the internal guidelines for retention of data generally, which I\u2019m not sure goes far enough to assuage the concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>From the police perspective, he added that there is \u201ca great and probably growing anxiety\u201d that, in the retained biometric information, there may be something critical to a case the public expects to be pursued; meaning there could be a backlash (at a time when public confidence in policing has been rocked) if a relevant biometric record was deleted.<\/p>\n<p>However, he also noted that UK police are \u201coperating in a completely uncircumscribed world where we wouldn\u2019t know until someone says they got it wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In a report that was sent to the Home Office in November 2022 and published on February 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/365530997\/Police-tech-needs-clear-legal-rules-says-biometric-regulator\">Sampson called<\/a> for clear, comprehensive and coherent frameworks to regulate police use of AI and biometrics in the UK, noting there has been an \u201cexplosion of capability in AI-driven biometric surveillance\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Both Parliament and civil society have repeatedly called for new legal frameworks to govern law enforcement\u2019s use of biometrics \u2013 including a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252515236\/Overhaul-of-UK-police-tech-needed-to-prevent-abuse\">House of Lords inquiry<\/a> into police use of advanced algorithmic technologies; an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252522157\/Urgent-need-for-new-laws-to-govern-biometrics-legal-review-finds\">independent legal review<\/a> by Matthew Ryder QC; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252480030\/Equality-watchdog-calls-on-police-to-stop-using-facial-recognition\">UK\u2019s Equalities and Human Rights Commission<\/a>; and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252466978\/Parliamentary-committee-calls-for-halt-to-facial-recognition-trials\">House of Commons Science and Technology Committee<\/a>, which called for a moratorium on live facial recognition as far back as July 2019.<\/p>\n<p>However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252522302\/Government-rejects-Lords-police-tech-inquiry-recommendations\">government maintains<\/a> that there is \u201calready a comprehensive framework\u201d in place.<\/p>\n<p>While the UK government is yet to publish its AI whitepaper, which will formalise its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252526324\/Parliamentary-committee-launches-inquiry-into-AI-governance\">approach to regulating the technology<\/a>, Sampson told MPs and Lords it needs to \u201cunderstand very clearly all the risks associated\u201d with its deployment, and that human rights should be the \u201chighest priority\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"DigDeeperSplash\">\n<h4>\n\t\t\t<i data-icon=\"m\"><\/i>Read more on Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/365530997\/Police-tech-needs-clear-legal-rules-says-biometric-regulator\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/police-1-fotolia_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/police-1-fotolia_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/police-1-fotolia.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Police tech needs clear legal rules, says biometrics regulator<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"SebastianKlovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Sebastian\u00a0Klovig Skelton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252522694\/Met-police-deploy-facial-recognition-technology-in-Oxford-Circus\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/CCTV-facial-recognition-2-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/CCTV-facial-recognition-2-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/German\/article\/CCTV-facial-recognition-2-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Met police deploy facial-recognition technology in Oxford Circus<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"SebastianKlovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Sebastian\u00a0Klovig Skelton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252522157\/Urgent-need-for-new-laws-to-govern-biometrics-legal-review-finds\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/Identity-biometrics-2-fotolia_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Identity-biometrics-2-fotolia_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/Identity-biometrics-2-fotolia.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Urgent need for new laws to govern biometrics, legal review finds<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"SebastianKlovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Sebastian\u00a0Klovig Skelton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252513015\/Met-police-deploy-facial-recognition-in-Westminster\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/surveillance-biometrics-identity-privacy-KUBE-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/surveillance-biometrics-identity-privacy-KUBE-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/surveillance-biometrics-identity-privacy-KUBE-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Met police deploy facial recognition in Westminster<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"SebastianKlovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Sebastian\u00a0Klovig Skelton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/365531873\/UK-police-have-culture-of-retention-around-biometric-data\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Camellia Pecora<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A culture of retention around biometric data in UK policing is damaging public trust, says UK biometrics commissioner, who is calling for clear regulation to govern police use of biometric technologies By Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Senior reporter Published: 24 Feb 2023 12:00 The UK\u2019s biometrics commissioner, Fraser Sampson, has told MPs and Lords there is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":612155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[693,294,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-612154","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-police","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}