Live facial recognition trials

The request was partially successful.

Dear British Transport Police,

As per: https://twitter.com/jamesmullarkey/statu... where a letter, dated 14 June 2019, from Nick Hurd MP states:
"We know that LFR [live facial recognition] trials are intended to commence to find missing and vulnerable persons, which is a collaboration between the Home Office and police forces (Kent and West Midlands, British Transport Police)."

1) Please advice when and where such trials will occur with British Transport Police, including whether they will be deployed on moving vehicles or not.

2) Please advise if the cameras using LFR will be mobile, whether fixed or the existing camera systems will be used.

3) Please provide any Data Protection Impact Assessment for these trials.

4) Please advise when the decision for these trials to go ahead was.

5) Please supply documents of any minutes of meetings, emails or any communications with the Home Office or other bodies, i.e. commercial entities (which may involved redaction) or for example the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Biometric Commissioner, Law Enforcement Facial Images and New Biometric Oversight and Advisory board, etc, involved in these trials.

6) Please advise the company who will be supplying the LFR hardware and software.

7) Please supply or advise any research or work that has prompted the use of live facial recognition to find "missing and vulnerable persons".

Some parts of this request may be easier to answer than others and in such case please could you release available data as soon as possible rather than delay the entire request. If you are not fully certain of what it is I am asking then I look forward to contact from you as soon as possible to clarify what it is I am requesting in order to meet your obligations under the law. If the costs of processing this request exceed the limit in the Act, please advise on what information you are able to supply within the cost limit.

Yours faithfully,

Pippa King

Freedom of information, British Transport Police

Dear Pippa King,

 

Freedom of Information request ref: 1012-19

 

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the
Act’).

 

Your request was received on 12^th July 2019 and will be processed in
accordance with the Act.

 

Please quote the above reference number on any correspondence.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Katie Hulland

Information Governance Officer /Swyddog Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth

Information Management Unit / Uned Rheoli Gwybodaeth

Capability and Resources / Gallu ac Adnoddau

British Transport Police, 3 Callaghan Square, Cardiff, CF10 5BT

Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig, 3 Sgŵar Callaghan, Caerdydd, CF10 5BT

DX 153042 Cardiff 36

Office / ffôn swyddfa 02920 525 338

Internal / ffôn mewnol 5525338

Email / e-bost [1][email address]

[2]www.btp.police.uk

 

 

Unless otherwise stated above, this e-mail is considered ‘OFFICIAL’

Oni nodir fel arall uchod, mae’r e-bost yma i’w gael ei ystyried ‘SWYDDOGOL’

 

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Freedom of information, British Transport Police

2 Attachments

Dear Ms King,

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Request, our reference 1012-19.

 

Please find attached our response. I apologise for the delay in responding
to you on this occasion.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Simon Fuller

Information Governance Manager

Information Management / Uned Rheoli Gwybodaeth

Capability and Resources/Gallu ac Adnoddau

British Transport Police / Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig

Telephone/ffôn swyddfa: 02920 525356

Mobile/Symudol: 07825 016547

Email/Ebost: [1][email address

Mail / Bost: British Transport Police, Information Management, 2nd Floor,
 3 Callaghan Square, Cardiff, CF10 5BT /

Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig, 3 Sgŵar Callaghan, Caerdydd CF10 5BT

Internal Post / Bost Mewnol: DX 153042 Cardiff 36

[2]www.btp.police.uk 

 

Unless otherwise stated above this e mail is considered ‘OFFICIAL’

 

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J Roberts left an annotation ()

Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material Annual Report
January 2021 – March 2022

And

Surveillance Camera Commissioner Annual Report March 2021 – March 2022

February 2023

'84. More worrying is the reported use of images of people who, while having been arrested, have never subsequently been charged or summonsed, for comparison against Live Facial Recognition ‘reads‘ and watchlists. As I record in Part 2 of this report, the use of facial recognition technology by the police has become one of the most contentious areas of biometric surveillance, not just in the UK but globally .

Part 2 – Facial Recognition and AI

96. The objective of the event was to gain a better understanding of how facial recognition technology is perceived by society in a policing and law enforcement context. Speaking at the event were the Forensic Science Regulator, a senior lecturer from Sheffield University and representatives from the Biometrics Institute, the Information Commissioner’s Office, South Wales Police, and Big Brother Watch.

Appendix F: Facial recognition and AI'

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...

Initial analysis of the 2022 police survey returns
Published 14 November 2022

'Is your force operating Facial Recognition Technology?

Only one force stated that it was using LFR (from the list supplied). Six had access to PND and two of those to CAID. One other mentioned access to Athena.'

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Live facial recognition technology guidance
published 22/3/22

https://www.college.police.uk/article/li...

The Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner's response to the College of Policing APP on Live Facial Recognition
6/4/22

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-b...

Chief Constables’ Council
Title: National Biometrics Function and National Facial Recognition Project - 30/9/21

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/8...

Who's Watching You? Report by Big Brother Watch - 7/2/22

https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/wp-conten...

'Police forces were reluctant to answer questions about any advanced capabilities, while some refused to say if they used Chinese brands at all'

Fact Sheet on live facial recognition used by police Home Office 2019

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov....