Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have carried out to determine whether the police facial recognition database complies with the Data Protection Act 1998; and what were the findings of that review.

Lord Bates

There is no facial recognition database as such. The Police National Database (PND) includes photographs of persons taken on their arrest. These images can be uploaded onto the PND by police forces. Full face images of a suitable size and quality are then enrolled in the facial image recognition gallery within the PND, which can be searched using automated facial recognition software. As set out by the Code of Practice on the Operation and Use of the PND, chief police officers are responsible for the development and implementation of appropriate procedures and systems so that personal data is processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and other relevant legislation and guidance.