Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports the reported proposals from the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to deploy live facial recognition technology for law enforcement purposes.
The Scottish Government remains committed to the legal, ethical and proportionate use of new technologies in policing, which takes account of ethical and human rights obligations, to ensure that the adoption of any new technology for policing purposes is done in a way that secures public confidence.
That is why we commissioned a report into emerging technologies in policing from an independent advisory group, which was published in February 2023 (Independent advisory group on new and emerging technologies in policing: final report ). The report confirmed that Scotland is in a strong position to become world-leading in adopting a rights-based, ethical approach to the adoption of emerging technologies in policing.
Any decision to deploy Live Facial Recognition technology is an operational matter for the Chief Constable under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority. The Chief Constable is responsible for operational policing and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this - not to Scottish Ministers. These arrangements are in law and in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from Ministerial interference.
I have written to the Scottish Police Authority to seek assurances that a transparent and robust process will be adopted in considering and scrutinising any plans for the future deployment of Live Facial Recognition technology.