Judgment Approved by the court for handing down
R (Bridges) v CCSWP and SSHD
however there may be additional standards applicable where the
system has specific advanced capability such as ANPR, video analytics
or facial recognition systems, or where there is a specific deployment
scenario, for example the use of body-worn video recorders.”
“4.12.1 Any use of technologies such as ANPR or facial recognition
systems which may rely on the accuracy of information generated
elsewhere such as databases provided by others should not be
introduced without regular assessment to ensure the underlying data is
fit for purpose.”
“4.12.2 A system operator should have a clear policy to determine the
inclusion of a vehicle registration number or a known individual’s
details on a reference database associated with such technology. A
system operator should ensure that reference data is not retained for
longer than necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was originally
added to a database.”
Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s AFR Guidance
22
34.
The Surveillance Camera Commissioner has published “guidance” or “advice”
on the use of AFR by the police in conjunction with CCTV entitled “The
Police Use of Automated Facial Recognition Technology with Surveillance
Camera Systems” (“the AFR Guidance”). The guidance explains the roles of
the Surveillance Camera Commissioner and IC in relation to the regulation of
the police use of AFR. The Surveillance Camera Commissioner AFR
Guidance is designed to assist relevant authorities in complying with their
statutory obligations “arising under section 31(1)” of the PFA 2012 and the
Code of Practice (paragraph 1.3).22
35.
The AFR Guidance was promulgated on the basis that the Surveillance
Camera Commissioner “should provide advice and information to the public
and system operators about the effective, appropriate, proportionate and
transparent use of surveillance camera systems” (Code of Practice, paragraph
5.6). It is said that the AFR Guidance indicates “the way in which the
Commissioner is minded to construe the particular statutory provisions arising
from PFA 2012 and those provisions within the Code of Practice in the
absence of case law” (paragraph 1.8).
36.
The AFR Guidance focuses on the assessment of the necessity and
proportionality of deployments of AFR. It also provides advice on conducting
risk assessments and making use of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s
‘Self-Assessment Tool’. In respect of watchlists there are suggestions
concerning the nature of images used to produce watchlists.
It is assumed that this reference in paragraph 3.1 of the SCC AFR Guidance was intended to
be to s.33 because s.31(1) concerns the Secretary of State keeping the Code of Practice under
review.