Biometrics

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Retrospective Facial Recognition has become an essential investigative technology for law enforcement and government agencies. But how will systems keep pace over the next few years to deal with the ever-increasing quantity of data sources and the use of technology modify or hide identities?

FEATURE: Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow has set out a four-year strategic plan featuring priorities on public reassurance and code of practice compliance – and which also includes provision for thematic reviews on fingerprints, evidence from body-worn cameras, and retrieving of data from electronic devices – against a backdrop of “exponential growth” in biometrics and databases, and the associated privacy, human-rights, and equality considerations, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A new report from Europol exploring “biometric vulnerabilities” and the need to protect against potential exploitation by criminals has called on law enforcement agencies to work with experts in biometrics and cybersecurity from the private sector to safeguard biometric systems, as well as increasing data sharing around potential attacks to stay “on the front foot” in the battle with criminal actors, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: A life-saving biometric monitoring system introduced into custody cells in Regina Police Service is among a range of innovative strategies being implemented across the service, as Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend discovered when she spoke to Chief Farooq Sheikh and Staff Sergeant Pierre Beauchesne.

ANALYSIS: The use of wearable technology to monitor health and wellbeing continues to expand significantly; Dr Carol Cox, Head of the Liverpool Centre of Advanced Policing Studies at Liverpool John Moore’s University, is leading a research team from the Centre in its work on the police use of such technology, and explains the challenges and benefits identified to date, as well as early indications from the latest study due to be released in April.

ANALYSIS: In the fourth in a series of five articles looking at the big debates in police use of facial recognition (FR), extracted from this year’s ‘Facing the future: The rise of facial recognition in policing’ report, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the crucial issue of privacy and intrusion – which goes to the very heart of the FR debate – and looks at the absence of legislation around FR, with much of the early oversight coming from privacy regulators.

ANALYSIS: In the third in a series of five articles looking at the big debates in police use of facial recognition (FR), extracted from this year’s ‘Facing the future: The rise of facial recognition in policing’ report, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explored human involvement in overseeing FR systems – often seen as an essential requirement for a trustworthy use of the technology, but does the human presence really reduce bias?

ANALYSIS: In the second in a series of five articles looking at the big debates in police use of facial recognition (FR) – extracted from this year’s ‘Facing the future: The rise of facial recognition in policing’ report – Policing Insight spoke to senior officers, academics and technical experts to explore concerns around bias and accuracy, a subject central to the facial recognition debate and a common reason for some people’s opposition to police use of this technology.

INTERVIEW: Policing Insight’s recent ‘Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing’ report drew on 34 interviews with operational leaders and experts to examine how facial recognition (FR) is being used by police around the world and the key debates about the technology; as part of that project, James Sweetland interviewed Dr Andrew Chen, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Auckland about New Zealand Police’s approach to this technology and the debate around accuracy and bias – in this article, we share more from that insightful conversation.

INNOVATION: Advances in the application of artificial intelligence and other new technology have huge potential for transforming the criminal justice system in areas such as video redaction, risk assessment and forensic biotechnology; Simon Randall, CEO of privacy and security specialists Pimloc, explores some of those opportunities to increase effectiveness, as well as the challenges the new tech presents.

INSIGHT: Policing Insight’s James Sweetland joined officers and staff from the Metropolitan Police for a live facial recognition deployment, to gain a better understanding of the operational benefits and challenges as well as the public response to this new technology.

REPORT LAUNCH: Policing Insight launches a new thematic report – Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing. The report aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about facial recognition; with contributions from 34 expert stakeholders from around the world, we explain the technology and highlight the big debates around its use.

INNOVATION: An 18-month sleep, fatigue and recovery biometrics pilot programme run in Merseyside Police by the UK’s National Police Wellbeing Service and Liverpool John Moore’s University has received funding to undertake an evaluation of the benefits of wearable technology, with a view to rolling out a toolkit across the service, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: In the latest in a series of articles exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in policing, Chief Philip Lukens compares the related but distinct fields of biometrics and facial recognition, and explores how biometric technologies can enhance facial recognition systems and improve accuracy and security.

FEATURE: The latest Assurance Review by the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner has called for stronger governance of biometric data – particularly images – held by the country’s law enforcement agencies, while restating the Commissioner’s opposition to UK Government plans to give police forces access to passport and driving licence images for use with tools such as facial recognition, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Attitudes to the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) are changing rapidly, with Policing Minister Chris Philp and others advocating its use within a proportionate ethical and legislative framework. Ian Williams of Motorola Solutions argues that police forces are seeing FRT in an increasingly positive light, with advances in the technology helping humans make better-informed decisions and ensuring justice for the victims of crime.

FEATURE: As we welcome in 2024, Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter looks back over what the past 12 months have meant for policing in the UK and internationally, how those issues have been covered by Policing Insight, and the continuing challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.

FEATURE: A new study from academics at Stirling University and the University of Edinburgh imagines how biometric artificial intelligence (AI) could be deployed by policing in the future, setting out both the potential risks and the opportunities that tools such as facial recognition drones could bring, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: There has been intense discussion about police use of facial recognition in recent years, with questions surrounding the ethics and practical implementation of Live Facial Recognition in public spaces. Ian Williams discusses how Motorola Solutions’ Pronto digital policing platform is leveraging other applications of facial recognition technology that address the interests of victims and the public at large.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to former police officer and Interpol Director Michael O’Connell, now Managing Director of Critical Insights Consultancy, about biometric-based travel bans to stop criminals at national borders, the importance of following financial trails, and why the UK’s Baroness Casey Review has implications for all policing agencies.

FEATURE: The theft of livestock is a serious and growing problem in Australia, with large-scale and sophisticated thefts are being reported with increasing frequency; Kyle J D Mulrooney and Alistair Harkness, Co-directors of the Centre for Rural Criminology at the University of New England, explore the scale of the problem as well as highlighting new technologies which could help to tackle the challenge.

FEATURE: After the recent bruising inspectorate assessment of digital forensics across England and Wales, the development of a new fingerprint capability – rolling out in the East Midlands from next month – offers a more positive story; this new digital tool, developed through Transforming Forensics, could speed up investigations, improve standards, and show the value of collaboration, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: A recent research report into the police use of body-worn video, published by the University of Stirling and commissioned by Police Scotland, highlights the opportunities for the service to develop best practice incorporating the experience of other forces, and implement governance and accountability measures that will help to ensure public trust and confidence, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The rapid advance of biometric technology is generating new identification and surveillance opportunities for the police and security sectors, alongside growing concern about oversight; Jessica Figueras, Vice-Chair of the UK Cyber Security Council (writing here in a private capacity) believes that improved ethical governance will be crucial as the use of biometrics expands – and the lack of ‘algorithmic inspection’ skills required to provide that governance could slow the pace of adoption.