Correspondence

April 2019

Updated 2 September 2021

Welcome from the Surveillance Camera Commissioner

Welcome to the 5th edition of my newsletter.

In this issue you can read about the Civil Engagement strand of my National Surveillance Camera Strategy and the submissions I recently made to the Science and Technology Select Committee (Commons) for a one-off evidence session, where some of the discussion focussed on the use of automatic (live) facial recognition (AFR) technology.

Follow links to the published ANPR Independent Advisory Group meeting minutes, the revised Guide to the Regulation of Surveillance and the guidance I issued recently to police forces on the use of automated facial recognition technology with surveillance camera systems.

You can read the most recent blogs published on my website, and news articles relevant to my regulatory remit. Also find out which organisations have recently achieved certification and gained my certification mark.

I hope you find what’s in this edition useful. Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested and they can subscribe to receive the newsletter themselves by completing a short online form.

In focus – National surveillance camera strategy

The national surveillance camera strategy provides direction and leadership in the surveillance camera community to enable system operators to understand and use best and good practice and be aware of their legal obligations. The strategy is divided into 11 work strands, each led by sector expert who have developed plans for each strand to deliver the strategic vision. You can read about the civil engagement strand below.

Civil engagement

It is important to build public awareness and encourage debate about surveillance and how it is conducted. Better governance of surveillance cameras can only be realised through enhanced public debate about their role in society. Civil engagement is therefore a key strand of work within the framework of the national strategy as follows:

Objective 3 – make information freely available to the public about the operation of surveillance camera systems.

This strand is being led by Professor William Webster, Director at the Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP) and Professor of Public Policy and Management at the University of Stirling.

As part of the civil engagement strand of the national strategy, a Surveillance Camera Day is taking place on 20 June 2019 to raise awareness of surveillance cameras and how they are used. Tony Porter said:

The primary purpose of the day will be to raise public awareness about the provision and operation of surveillance cameras in the UK and this kind of day is a world first! The intention is to enhance public debate and in doing so to encourage discourse that will help inform policy-makers and service providers regarding societally acceptable surveillance practices and legitimacy for surveillance camera systems that are delivered in line with society’s needs.

More information will be available on the Surveillance Camera Commissioner website in the coming weeks.

Submissions to the Science and Technology Select Committee

The Science and Technology Committee held a one-off evidence session with the Biometrics Commissioner, Professor Paul Wiles, the Forensic Science Regulator, Dr Gillian Tully, and the Minister for Countering Extremism, Baroness Williams of Trafford, to follow up on the Committee’s 2018 Report “Biometrics strategy and forensic services”.

The session took place on Tuesday 19 March. It examined what progress has been made towards addressing the recommendations made in the committee’s report and also considered the Government’s Biometrics Strategy and the Forensic Science Regulator Bill.

Watch a recording of the Committee.

The Surveillance Camera Commissioner (SCC) made written submissions to the inquiry, predominately focussed on the use of automatic (live) facial recognition (AFR) technology. Here’s the SCC executive summary:

Executive summary

• a clearer legal framework outlining how Automatic Facial Recognition (AFR) can be deployed would support law enforcement practitioners
• a clear, well-regulated framework, exists for covert surveillance usage (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA)) and that overt use of such advancing technology (AFR) is arguably more invasive than some covert surveillance techniques
• the police/Home Office/National Police Chiefs’ Council should develop a suite of standards covering deployment, type of approval of equipment and performance criteria akin to that which exists for Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology
• the SCC has produced a guidance document for police use of AFR. It is drafted with due consideration to the strict regulation covering the use of directed surveillance under RIPA. It is for Government and Parliament to decide if the potential for intrusion of this technology requires similar governance structures and supporting legislation
• NPCC/Home Office need to develop a single narrative that effectively counters the erroneous reporting concerning the reliability of the technology. The current police pilots rely upon human intervention assisted by technology. This is overlooked in the assessment of the efficiency of AFR by critics of the technology. They hone in on the autonomous nature of matching faces passing a camera to a pre-determined watchlist ignoring the fact there is always human intervention before a possible ‘match’ is approached
• whilst the use of AFR by police is merit worthy of focussed debate, it is used much more widely amongst the commercial sector which is less well regulated
• police/private partnerships can create added complications in terms of legitimacy of use
• police use of AFR under the auspices of a ‘pilot programme’ need to be clearly defined if public trust and confidence is to be maintained. The terms of pilots need to be clearly defined
• evaluation methodologies need to be clear and independent. Transparent reporting in the public eye would bolster trust and confidence in its use
• the Home Office Biometrics Strategy reported that the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice would be revisited and refreshed as a key deliverable. This must be advanced and ensure clear and direct guidance is provided within it for the use of advancing technologies as stated within the Code and Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 itself

Raising standards – certification scheme

Under the provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, police forces and local authorities must pay due regard to the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice (the Code) – for other organisations adoption of the 12 principles in the Code is voluntary.

The Commissioner’s third-party certification scheme enables organisations to visibly demonstrate they comply with the Code by displaying the Commissioner’s certification mark. A list of organisations of certified organisations is also displayed on the SCC website and updated quarterly.

The Commissioner offers his congratulations to Gloucestershire Constabulary for being the first police force to achieve full certification for their use of ANPR (they have also previously achieved full certification for their use of CCTV and Body Worn Videos). Gloucestershire Constabulary’s scheme is operated in partnership with a number of local Councils. Originally, this only included Gloucester City Council, however, over the past twelve months the scheme has been enlarged to also now include Cheltenham Borough Council, Stroud District Council and Cirencester Town Council.

Details about the scheme and an updated leaflet are available on the SCC website or you can contact the Commissioner’s team for more information.

In the news – recent events, news and publications

News stories and articles:

• Hugo Griffiths, Autoexpress has published an Exclusive article: the UK’s ANPR camera network exposed.
  
  At the start of the year, Tony Porter warned that the UK’s ANPR network operates with “limited democratic oversight” and the system “must surely be one of the largest data gatherers of its citizens in the world” although he recognised the vital crime-fighting role the camera network plays.
  
  Read the full article.
  
  

• Annabel Dickson, POLITICO has published an article – UK looks the other way on AI: Brexit is distracting lawmakers from examining the controversial use of facial recognition technology.
  
  “If the public is to have its concerns assuaged, if trust is to be developed, there has to be a very clear regulatory framework and at this stage, I don’t think there is” said Tony Porter, the UK’s surveillance camera commissioner, who oversees compliance with the UK’s surveillance camera code of practice and advises ministers, the public and system operators about effective and appropriate use of surveillance camera systems.
  
  Porter added that he has yet to be convinced there is a “very real and serious approach to how government wants to use this type of technology, if indeed it does.”
  
  Read the full article.
  
  

• Adam Bannister, IFSEC Global Editor has published an article: Innovation has revitalised video surveillance – but amplified privacy challenges: Tony Porter
  
  Porter, whose background was in covert surveillance, found that the overt surveillance sector was an “energetic but uncertain industry”.
  
  Speaking recently at the annual NSI Summit in Birmingham, the former senior police officer outlined the thought processes that later birthed the national surveillance camera strategy for England and Wales.
  
  Read the full article.

Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s blogs:

The debate on automatic facial recognition continues

Once again the issue of police use of Automatic Facial Recognition technology has come into public spotlight.

Read the commissioner’s blog.

Guide to the Regulation of Surveillance

This guidance has been drawn up by the commissioners whose work it describes to explain their roles and responsibilities in relation to surveillance matters. It clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the bodies involved in overseeing legislation concerning surveillance in the United Kingdom and provides an overview of who is responsible for what. It is designed to ensure that respective roles are understood and that the privacy of individuals is considered alongside the development and deployment of surveillance camera systems.

ANPR Independent Advisory Group meeting minutes 22 November 2018

The ANPR Independent Advisory Group (ANPR IAG) has been established to scrutinise the deployment and operation of automatic number plate recognition as a surveillance tool. It comprises specialist external interests as well as the police, Information Commissioner’s Office and the Home Office.

Read the minutes of the meeting on 22 November 2018.

Guidance on police use of automated facial recognition technology with surveillance camera systems

This guidance is aimed at helping police forces who are considering deploying facial recognition technology. It sets out the legal, ethical and operational considerations they may wish to consider before and during deployment.

This guidance is to assist police forces to comply with their statutory obligations arising from Section 31(1) Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, when overtly operating surveillance camera systems in public places in England and Wales. These include those which make use of face recognition technology.