Police facial recognition still searches mugshots that should have been deleted
Watchdog finds no statutory framework and junior officers unaware that matches are not evidence, seven forces lack an auditor and 22 filed no complete returns
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Custody photographs that police rules required to be deleted are still being picked up in facial recognition searches, according to a report by the police watchdog His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services. The inspection covered retrospective facial recognition — comparing images from an investigation, such as CCTV footage, against pictures held on the Police National Database — as used by police forces and the National Crime Agency.
The report describes a technology that has outrun its governance. There is no comprehensive statutory framework governing police use of facial recognition, and legislation has not kept up with its development, which inspectors say has produced a fragmented approach and underdeveloped national arrangements. Matches produced by the software are intelligence rather than evidence, and investigators are expected to corroborate them through their own inquiries before taking enforcement action — yet some junior officers were unaware of the distinction. Inspectors found a small number of cases where officers relied too heavily on the technology, leading to inappropriate investigative action. The risk the watchdog names is people being incorrectly identified or arrested.
Retention of custody images "remains an area of concern": some images that should have been deleted under existing retention rules remained available for facial recognition searches. The report recommends improvements to national and local governance and the introduction of clear national standards.
The audit machinery meant to check all this is itself patchy. Figures from the National Police Chiefs' Council show that two forces in England and Wales audited the correct number of retrospective facial recognition files, ten audited more than the required 1 per cent of records, and 22 forces either failed to submit a return or sent in incomplete information. Seven forces have not appointed an auditor; the two auditors who were appointed could not access the Police National Database they were meant to check.