{"id":19598,"date":"2021-08-17T03:59:40","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T07:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=19598"},"modified":"2021-08-17T03:59:40","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T07:59:40","slug":"new-police-cctv-use-rules-criticised-as-bare-bones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/08\/17\/new-police-cctv-use-rules-criticised-as-bare-bones\/","title":{"rendered":"New police CCTV use rules criticised as bare bones"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A proposed code of practice covering police use of live facial recognition in England and Wales has been criticised by human rights groups.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Live facial-recognition systems compare faces captured on closed-circuit television with those on a watch-list, alerting officers to a match.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Former CCTV watchdog Tony Porter said the new rules were “bare bones” and offered unclear guidance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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And two campaign groups have called for the practice to be ended entirely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Home Office said the new guidelines, included in the first update to the\u00a0Surveillance Camera Code of Practice<\/a>\u00a0in eight years, empowered police and maintained public trust.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Intimidate protesters’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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In August 2020, Ed Bridges, of Cardiff,\u00a0won a court case<\/a>\u00a0after twice being filmed by South Wales Police’s automatic facial-recognition van.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On the final occasion, the former Lib Dem councillor was attending a peaceful protest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I take the view that in this country we have policing by consent and the police should be supporting our right to free protest, rather than trying to intimidate protesters,” he told BBC News, after his court victory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In its judgement, the Court of Appeal said more checks should have been made to ensure the live facial-recognition (LFR) algorithm used had no gender or racial bias – and tighter regulations were needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Dystopian surveillance’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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The new code, which covers CCTV use by local authorities and the police, says LFR deployments should:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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