David Kennedy, General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), has called for new powers to stop football hooligans using masks to conceal their identities. He welcomed proposals to use 'live facial recognition' technology to combat rising criminality on matchdays but said the tech cannot work properly if thugs use face coverings to avoid detection. He believes officers should have the powers to order suspects to remove them.
Facial Recognition and Face Coverings
In his annual report this week, His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Craig Naylor, claimed the introduction of facial recognition can prevent future violence and disorder. The AI-driven technology uses video cameras to photograph people in public places and compares their images to those on a police watchlist database.
Mr Kennedy said: "There is little point investing millions of pounds in sophisticated technology capable of recognising a face if an individual intent on committing crime can simply hide that face behind a mask or covering."
Call for Clear Legal Powers
He added: "Before we get carried away with what technology might be able to achieve, we need to make sure police officers have clear and practical legal powers to require the removal of facial coverings where they reasonably believe those coverings are being deliberately used to conceal identity in connection with criminality, violence or serious disorder."
"There are currently limited circumstances in which officers can require the removal of an item being worn to conceal identity. We believe there is a legitimate discussion to be had about whether those powers are now sufficient for modern policing."
"This is not about interfering with legitimate religious, cultural, medical or occupational reasons for covering the face. Appropriate exemptions and safeguards would clearly be required. It is about people who deliberately conceal their identities in order to commit offences, intimidate others or frustrate the ability of the police to identify them."
Debate Over Technology
The SPF says facial recognition could help police trace suspects wanted for serious crimes and find people who are missing or at risk. Mr Kennedy added: "There is a legitimate debate to be had about facial recognition, but we should start from the principle that technology which can help police officers protect the public and apprehend dangerous offenders should be properly explored."
"At the same time, the public must have confidence that it will be used lawfully, proportionately and only for clearly defined policing purposes. Technology can make policing more effective, but it does not replace police officers. We are not afraid of new technology and we should not deny officers tools that can genuinely help them keep people safe."
Live facial recognition is already used by some police forces in England and Wales, including the Met in London. In his annual report, Naylor described recent football violence and related disorder in Scotland as "a situation that cannot continue to be tolerated." He referred to the scenes following the Scottish Cup tie in March between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox, which involved pitch invasions and more than 37 arrests. He said facial recognition could prevent future football-related disorder and identify fans who attend games in breach of football banning orders.
However, objections have come from human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Big Brother Watch. Neil Cowan, Scotland programme director at Amnesty International, said: "Facial recognition technology is a dangerous and discriminatory tool of surveillance that should be scrapped, not rolled out further across the UK." The trade union Unison, which represents civilian police workers, has also questioned the plans due to recent cuts to office staff numbers. Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said: "We have a duty to use new technologies to safeguard our communities."
