Police mugshots that should have been deleted 'being used in facial recognition tech'

Custody photographs that ought to have been deleted are being wrongly retained and can still be picked up in facial recognition searches, a watchdog has warned.His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services said public confidence in law enforcement’s use of retrospective facial recognition could be damaged if custody images are wrongly saved.It found oversight was inconsistent, and some junior officers were unaware that matches produced by the software cannot be treated as evidence.Retrospective facial recognition is most often used to compare images from an investigation, such as CCTV footage, with pictures held on the Police National Database.Some junior police officers are not aware they cannot submit matches produced by retrospective facial recognition as evidencePA ArchiveInvestigators are then expected to carry out their own inquiries to corroborate the finding before taking action.The report said: “We found that forces didn’t use retrospective facial recognition (RFR) consistently. While experienced investigators generally understood its limitations and the need to corroborate potential matches, less experienced investigators often had a weaker understanding.“Some investigators didn’t know that RFR results were intelligence rather than evidence and required further inquiries before officers took enforcement action.“This creates a risk that people could be incorrectly identified or arrested, which could undermine public confidence in the technology.”Inspectors found a small number of cases where officers relied too heavily on the technology “which led to inappropriate investigative action”.In some cases, ‘inappropriate’ investigations have been carried out because of the over-reliance on retrospective facial recognition techPA ArchiveThere were also inconsistencies in oversight of the use of RFR, inspectors found.“During our inspection, we found that governance, oversight and use of RFR wasn’t sufficiently consistent across policing,” they said.“Legislation hasn’t kept up with developments in facial recognition technology, which is contributing to uncertainty and a fragmented approach.“While national bodies have provided some guidance and oversight, arrangements remain underdeveloped. There is no comprehensive statutory framework governing the police use of facial recognition technology.Read MoreThe report found some forces were not complying with national audit requirements.Figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council showed that two forces in England and Wales had audited the correct number of RFR files.Seven forces had not appointed an auditor.Two auditors could not access the police national database.Ten forces had audited more than the 1% of records they are required to examine.And 22 either failed to submit a return or sent in incomplete information.Inspectors also raised concerns about the retention of some custody images that should have been deleted.“The retention of custody images remains an area of concern,” the report said. “We found that some images which should have been deleted under existing retention rules remained available for facial recognition searches.“This risks undermining public confidence and highlights the importance of ongoing national work to improve compliance, strengthen image management processes and align the treatment of custody images more closely with other biometric data.”The report made recommendations including improvements to national and local governance, the introduction of clear national standards, moves to improve oversight and training, and making sure the technology is used more consistently.“We analysed the available data and found that the public generally supported the police service’s use of RFR.“But continued support will depend on maintaining public confidence, openness about its use and effective safeguards.”Earlier this month, the Home Office pledged to bring in tougher laws around the use of live facial recognition technology by police – where cameras are used to scan every passing face in case of potential matches with a watch list.Laws will be introduced to Parliament under the Police Reform Bill to make sure police use of facial recognition is “intelligence-led and proportionate”, so it is only used when officers believe wanted people could be present in a certain area, the Home Office said.A new algorithm for the technology is being trialled amid concerns raised in 2024 about the potential of people from minority ethnic backgrounds being more likely to appear in search results than white people, and women rather than men, and those aged in their 20s rather than other age groups.