South Wales Police and Gwent Police are planning to equip officers with a mobile phone facial recognition app.
They will be the first police forces in the UK to deploy the app and said it will enable officers to confirm the identity of someone who is missing, at risk or wanted when they are unable or refuse to give details, or provide false details. This can help them to secure a quick arrest and easily resolve cases of mistaken identity.
It can also be used on people who have died or are unconscious.
Named Operator Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR), it has been tested by 70 officers across South Wales in a range of scenarios.
South Wales Police said that photographs taken through the app are never retained and will only be used in private places – such as houses, schools, medical facilities and places of worship – in situations where there is a risk of significant harm.
Confirming identities
Assistant Chief Constable Trudi Myrick said: “Police officers have always been able to spot someone who they think is missing or wanted and stop them in the street. What this technology does is enhance their ability to accurately confirm a person’s identity, helping to ensure a fair and transparent resolution.
“This mobile phone app means with the taking of a single photograph which is compared to the police database, officers can easily and quickly answer the question of ‘Are you really the person we are looking for?’
“When dealing with a person of interest during their patrols in our communities, officers will be able to access instant information, allowing them to identify whether the person stopped is, or isn’t the person they need to speak to, withing having to return to a police station.
“This technology doesn’t replace traditional means of identifying people and our police officers will only be using it in instances where it is both necessary and proportionate to do so, with the aim of keeping that particular individual, or the wider public, safe.”
Assistant Chief Constable of Gwent Police Nick McLain said: “The use of this technology always involves human decision making and oversight, ensuring that it is used lawfully, ethically and in the public interest. We have a robust scrutiny process in place to ensure accountability and testing that found no evidence of racial, age or gender bias.”
Pilot project results
A pilot project involved the taking of 39 photographs of subjects through the app, recording that 30 were suspected of an offence, nine were suspected missing people, two were deceased and one was suspected to suffer harm.
There have been occasions when use of the app has led to vehicles being seized from disqualified drivers who had lied about their identities.
The trial received positive feedback from police officers, who said it is user-friendly and supports operational policing.
The use of facial recognition by police forces has proved controversial. In 2020 South Wales Police lost a court appeal on its use of the technology in a public space – as reported by the BBC – and the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has called for the development of a clear legal foundation.
But last year the National Police Chief’s Council backed the use of an app, and more recently the Home Office has provided funding for the wider use of the technology.
