Police watchdog calls for live facial recognition to tackle football disorder

There are different ways police forces around the UK use facial recognition technology, including tapping into existing CCTV systems, although it is not frequently used in Scotland. Forces in England and Wales have deployed vans with cameras, while the Met Police have also trialled the technology at tube stations.Prof Kay Ritchie, head of sociological and psychological sciences at Abertay University, told BBC Scotland that the cameras take images of faces and, instead of storing them, "translate" them into a different "digital representation" of the face.This is then compared with a list of known or wanted faces - people who have committed crime or are suspected of committing them.Over the past decade, campaign group Big Brother Watch has claimed the technology flagged up a "staggering" number of innocent people as suspects.It took legal action in an attempt to limit the Met Police's use of facial recognition over concerns that it could be used arbitrarily or in a discriminatory way - but the group lost its challenge earlier this year.According to the Met Police, 2,100 arrests have been made since the start of 2024 using the technology.Last year, more than three million faces walked past the live facial recognition cameras and 12 false alerts were logged, with none leading to an arrest.Prof Ritchie said people were not very well informed on how accurate facial recognition is, adding: "Actually, the technology is extremely accurate and there are very few demographic differences at all."She said tests run by the National Physical Laboratory in London and the National Institute for Standards and Technology in the US showed that the systems were becoming "increasingly accurate" and were "far more accurate than a human would be".Any introduction of the technology in Scotland could be difficult and the proposals have already been met with opposition from civil rights groups and supporters associations.A spokesperson for Amnesty International UK said: "Facial Recognition Technology is a dangerous and discriminatory tool of surveillance that should be scrapped, not rolled out further across the UK."The spokesperson said use of FRT in England and Wales has led to "repeated cases of harassment and false arrest.""To move forward with FRT would bring about a historic shift in the relationship between the police and the public in Scotland and we want to see its use ruled out," they said.Paul Goodwin, from the Scottish Football Supporters Association, also urged authorities to set aside the "reckless proposal".He said they should "instead focus on deepening co-operation with local fan groups and clubs in building a community safety approach."Justice Secretary Neil Gray told the BBC's Radio Scotland Breakfast programme that deployment of technologies such as facial recognition was the responsibility of the police.He said: "We would clearly wish to see any advancement in the detection of criminality so long as that is proportionate with the European Convention on Human Rights, the commissioner of biometrics and other regulatory factors."I also think there is a role for clubs and individuals here to ensure that we're seeing better behaviour at football matches."The SPFL and Scottish Football Association have been approached for comment.