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

Résumé détaillé

A report by the police watchdog has warned that retrospective facial recognition is using custody photos that should have been deleted from forces’ files

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.

The watchdog’s report covered the use of the technology by police and the National Crime Agency.

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.

Investigators 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.”

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