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Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary uses facial recognition technology to prevent and detect crime and help protect the vulnerable.
Facial Recognition is a technology capable of comparing a human face from a digital image against a database of faces.
The specific purpose for Live Facial Recognition deployment is:
To support Policing in the identification of persons wanted for priority offences, to support law enforcement including the administration of justice (through arrest of persons wanted on warrant or unlawfully at large/ recall to prison), and to ensure and promote the safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons at risk.
It analyses key facial features and generates a mathematical representation of these features. It then compares them against the mathematical representation of known faces in a database, generating possible matches.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary uses Facial Recognition Technology in the following cases:
Whenever we use Facial Recognition Technology, we recognise there is an ongoing need to balance privacy and protection concerns, in addition to considering its legal and ethical implications.
No future deployments planned
Portsmouth 10/09/2024
Southampton 11/09/2024
Basingstoke 12/09/2024
Winchester 12/09/2024
The PDFs on this page may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. We are in the process of updating them, but please email us to request an accessible version. See our accessibility statement.
Policy Document for overt deployment of LFR
Data Protection Impact Assessment
Surveillance Camera Code self-assessment tool
If you are not on a watchlist we will never store your biometric data. It is immediately and automatically deleted. In addition, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary will delete all alerts immediately after using them or within 24 hrs. The CCTV footage used by the technology, is recorded, and kept for up to 31 days. If there is an incorrect alert, the information and image will be deleted straight away.
This is a watch list for deployments which contain details of people who are wanted for crimes, subject to court orders or pose a risk to the public. Unless you are on the watch list you cannot be matched. South Wales Police are providing the technology for this deployment and there has not been one single wrongful arrest because of their use of facial recognition. When the technology finds a possible match, an alert is generated.
Any alerts are verified by an operator prior to an intervention by officers on the ground. The system will only seek to match those individuals placed on the watch list. Each watch list is unique to that event where the technology is being deployed.
This relates to biometric data so for people who don’t cause an alert. The biometric data is automatically and immediately deleted. For those images that cause an alert, these are deleted within 24 hours.
The use of live facial recognition technology by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is designed to be responsible, proportionate, and fair. It aims to keep the public safe, identifying serious offenders and protecting the vulnerable. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary uses transparency that demonstrates effectiveness, proportionality and compliance with legislation and guidelines when deploying live facial recognition technology.
Only persons who are wanted or suspect will be on an authorised watch list, and they are unable to opt out. If you wish to physically avoid a deployment this is not grounds on its own for us to have any interaction with you. We will always publish the dates and locations of a deployment several days in advance, except in very exceptional circumstances.
Images/biometric data of those who don’t cause an alert are automatically and immediately deleted. Images which cause an alert are deleted immediately after using them, or within 24 hrs. CCTV footage that's used by the LFR technology is recorded and kept for 31 days.
Historically there have been issues with Facial Recognition Technology and potential gender and ethnic bias. As the technology has developed over time this bias has reduced greatly.
Following work by South Wales Police, the Met, and the National Physics Laboratory, a report has been produced which gives an impartial, scientifically underpinned and evidence-based analysis of the performance of the facial recognition algorithm currently used by the Metropolitan Police Service and South Wales Police. As a result:
We will never pass biometric data to third party agencies.
All CCTV footage generated from a mobile CCTV deployment is deleted within 31 days, in the following examples when it is retained:
This percentage can vary and is impacted by several factors including the scope of the watch list and how many people pass through the zone of recognition for the camera.
How will you inform the public you're using LFR?
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary will do everything reasonably possible to inform the public where we are using Facial Recognition technology for example: