Justice Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Official Report 524KB pdf

Justice Sub-Committee on Policing (Report Back)

Agenda item 2 is feedback from the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing on its meeting on 21 November 2019. I refer members to paper 3, which is a paper by the clerk. Following the verbal report, there will be an opportunity for brief comments or questions from members.

I invite John Finnie to provide feedback.

Thank you, convener.

As you said, the committee has a paper on the subject. The sub-committee met on 21 November, when it took evidence as part of its inquiry into the use of facial recognition technology by the Police Service of Scotland. Issues were raised about Police Scotland’s intention to introduce the use of live facial recognition and the current facial matching processes. Witnesses raised concern about whether there is a sufficient legal framework for the use of facial recognition technology by the service and whether legislation has kept pace with the development of that technology. The sub-committee heard that there should be a clear framework and guidelines in place before live facial recognition is used in Scotland.

Another concern that was raised was the high level of inaccuracy that is associated with such technology, particularly in falsely identifying women and people from black and ethnic minority communities. Witnesses felt that Police Scotland should verify the claims that have been made by private technology companies before purchasing facial recognition technology.

The sub-committee also heard that, because of the invasive nature of live facial recognition technology, its unreliability and bias, public support for its use is low. Police Scotland needs to demonstrate that there is a clear purpose for using the technology that meets human rights requirements. There is also a need for Police Scotland to demonstrate that it has learned from the approach that it took to the introduction of the use of cyberkiosks for front-line officers; in particular, it should adopt a transparent approach and include stakeholders from the outset to shape policy.

In addition, the sub-committee heard that examination of the issues around the use of live facial recognition technology by the police should be a key priority for the Scottish biometrics commissioner once they are in post.

The sub-committee will hold its next evidence session on facial recognition technology on 5 December. I am happy to take any questions.

Thank you. As there are no questions or comments, that concludes the public part of today’s meeting.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 3 December, when we will take evidence from Gill Imery on the report of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland on its thematic inspection of the Scottish Police Authority.