The British government announced plans on 4 November for an independent watchdog and new safeguards governing police use of facial recognition. The Home Office announcement says the proposed rules would require intelligence-led, proportionate use and independent testing against discrimination based on age, gender or race.
The planned watchdog would oversee police use of current and emerging technologies, advise on standards and scrutinise compliance. In extreme cases, the Home Office says it could pursue enforcement action leading to a court injunction that prevents a force from using a technology. The announcement describes a future oversight body and legislation; it does not establish that either is already operating.
Ministers also intend to develop a legal code of practice for police in consultation with the new regulator. A separate code would address businesses using facial recognition to prevent crime, including retailers. The Home Office presents these measures as a response to a public consultation and to an existing legal framework it describes as fragmented.
The next stated steps are legislation, creation of the watchdog and development of the codes. The release gives no commencement date for the proposed framework. It follows an earlier £11 million investment to expand live facial-recognition vans for forces in England and Wales, according to the department. That spending and existing deployments are distinct from implementation of the newly announced safeguards.
