Privacy fears raised as report warns photographs of arrested people who are then released are being retained

Images of arrested people who were innocent of any crimes are still being stored in a police database that may be used for facial recognition purposes, an official report has warned.

In 2012, the high court ruled that keeping the images of people who faced no action or who were charged and then acquitted was unlawful.

Despite the ruling, custody images of innocent people are still on the Police national database, which is available to all UK police forces and selected law enforcement agencies. The images can be used for facial recognition checks of potential suspects.

The annual report of the ­biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner stated: “Forces continue to retain and use images of people who, while having been arrested, have never subsequently been charged or summonsed.

  • CouldntCareBear@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    13·
    4 days ago

    There’s a whole section of law that determines when the police are able to take DNA samples or fingerprints, and more laws for how long they can keep that information.

    It’s regulated. And bringing face recognition under biometric regulation is a no-brainer.