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.
They can’t grab your fingerprints while you’re walking down the street minding your own business. And genetic samples are regulated. Them building a database of facial recognition in one of the most surveilled countries in the world should be a cause for concern. Think zero privacy. It’s the same with phones. We don’t want that information just out there, tracking every single thing. same concern. (For those of us that care about privacy, that is)