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05
Apr
Deputy mayor ‘seeking assurances’ over police plans for mass surveillance cameras in North Yorkshire
Labour deputy mayor Jo Coles has said she is “seeking particular and ongoing assurances” from North Yorkshire Police about its plans to begin using live facial recognition cameras.
However, she said police should “explore new tools” and highlighted how other forces already use the controversial technology.
North Yorkshire Police announced on Thursday (April 2) it will become the latest constabulary to introduce live facial recognition technology, which scans people's faces as they pass and compares them to a watchlist to find matches.
It raises the prospect of mass surveillance in town and city centres and at other busy places, such as football matches.
The civil rights group Liberty says parking police vans in town centres to scan the faces of thousands of people violates human rights and reinforces discrimination.
Essex Police paused the use of live facial recognition last month after discovering it was more likely to identify black people than other ethnic groups.
In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said it would deploy the technology in “carefully selected, intelligence-led locations” across York and North Yorkshire.
Ms Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime in York and North Yorkshire, said in a statement the use of any new technology “requires particular scrutiny and assurance as some members of the public may be concerned about implications in terms of civil liberties, safeguarding and the potential targeting of minority groups”.
She added:
I recognise those concerns and am seeking particular and ongoing assurances around this proposal from North Yorkshire in a number of areas.
The areas include data storage, where and when the technology is used, how it is scrutinised, the legal framework surrounding its use, cost and “mission creep”.
Ms Coles added:
The responses to these issues may not reassure everyone and I know that some people are opposed to any use of this kind of technology by the police under any circumstances. However, as crime evolves, it is right that the police explore new tools that may help keep people safe - provided this is done responsibly and with robust safeguards.
At the moment there are no specific proposals for the use of this technology but in other parts of the UK it has been used to police sporting fixtures for example, or other events where large numbers of people congregate.
Going forward I will also be seeking further assurances in my regular meetings with North Yorkshire Police and am also planning to ensure the concerns of the public are properly represented in my regular online public meetings with North Yorkshire Police. Anyone who has particular questions or concerns can feed those into these processes.
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