The Great Britain government will consult a person’s person before the further expansion of its use throughout England, says Sarah Jones Minister of Police.
Speaking during the annual conference of the Labor Party, Jones said that the government will also strive to place the “parameters” in relation to how and when in the future it will be possible to expand the technology live (LFR).
“There were some tips on how we use it,” she said. “But we need to go further to make sure that it is clear when it should be used, and when it should not be used to place a certain structure around it, because in fact there is no special structure around what it is currently being used.” Jones added that “this is the conversation that we must conduct,” gave questions raised about LFR both parliamentarians and the public.
“We just need to make sure that it is clear that it will be useful for advancing forward if we are going to use it more if we want to expand it throughout the country, what are the parameters? We are going to consult with this. It will be very important in the future. This is what began under the last government, and something, that we think that they understood correctly. ”
On racial prejudices previously identified with LFR, Jones added that While the systems have improved And at present, “generally accurate”, there must still be guarantees that the technology is used in a “correct way”.
The Computer Weekly contacted the home office to receive more information about Jones's comments, including after the planned consultation begins, and whether the government plans to consult a police. Retrospective face recognition (RFR), but did not receive an answer during the publication.
Computer Weekly also asked about the Council that Jones said that the government had already received, but again did not receive an answer during the publication.
Jones's comments follow The then secretary-house Ivett Cooper, for the first time confirms in July 2025 that the government will create a “correct, clear management structure” to regulate the use of persons recognition technology by law enforcement agencies.
Cooper specially quoted fears among the police themselves, which the lack of regulation restrains the further distribution of technology.
A long -standing problems
Despite the fact that for many years there have been repeated calls both in parliament and civil society, so that the use of police technology, which should be regulated, the Ministry of the Interior – before Cooper’s comments – constantly claims that there is already a “comprehensive” structure.
Such calls for regulation include three separate requests of the Committee on the Justice of the Lords and the Internal Affairs in ShopIN Police algorithms And Police recognition of the face; Two of the former commissars in British biometria, Paul Wiles And Fraser Sampson; Anon Independent legal review Matthew Ryder QC; A British Commission and Human Rights in the UK; And Committee on Science and Technology of the House of CommonsWhich called for a moratorium on LFR back in July 2019.
In August 2025, the observation board in the UK announced the use of this technology, which is one of the few forces in the UK that currently use it, together with South WalesIN EssexIN Bedfordshire And others are illegal.
John Kirkpatrik, Executive Director of the Commission on Equality and Human Rights, in particular, said that at present this force does not fulfill key legal standards related to the necessity, proportion and respect of human rights in its deployment.
“The law is clear: everyone has the right to confidentiality, freedom of expression of opinions and freedom of meeting,” he said. “These rights are vital for any democratic society. Thus, there should be clear rules that guarantee that a living technology for recognizing persons is used only where it is necessary, proportional and limited by appropriate guarantees. We believe that the current policy of the metropolitan police does not comply with this standard. ”
In addition to the absence of clear regulation, Quickly expanding deployment of LFR Police forces still took place with minimal consultations or public debate, with several cases of technology deployment, despite the public opposition.
For example, while MET first used LFR on Notting Hill Carnival 2016, Deputies held their first debates on this topic only in November 2024Eight years later.
In the future, The computer was opened weekly In December 2024, contrary to MET's claims, its deployment of LFR in Lewisham was supported by most residents and local advisers, there was a minimum direct consultation with residents, while the advisers clearly continued to express concern about this.
“What people support are safer streets, and improved cohesion in equality and community,” said Advisor to Green Lewisham Hau there at that time. “They do not necessarily support the lively recognition of persons that they are not given a complete short presentation, or they are given a very misleading information.”
In January 2023, The Newham Council also unanimously adopted a request for the suspension of the use of LFR throughout the area Until biometric and anti -discrimination guarantees are in place.
While the movement emphasized the potential of LFR for “aggravation of racist results in police activities” – especially in Newham, The most ethnically diverse of all local authorities in England and Wales – Both met and the Ministry of the Interior said that they would still move forward with deployments.
In May 2025, the Institute of Ada Lavevy Published a report This noted that Britain’s patchwork approach to the regulation of biometric observation technologies is “inadequate”, which is at risk of fundamental rights and ultimately undermines public trust.
