South Wales & Gwent police forces have just introduced intrusive facial recognition app. It allows police officers to subject the public to “on-the-spot” face scans using a mobile device.
Big Brother Watch’s Jake Hurfurt said that this technology, known as Operator Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR), “creates a dangerous imbalance between the public’s rights with the police’s powers”.
“In Britain, none of us has to identify ourselves to police without very good reason, but this unregulated surveillance tech threatens to take that fundamental right away,” Mr Hurfurt added.
BBC – New app lets police identify suspects in the street
Nation Cymru – Police forces in Wales launch first facial recognition mobile app
Biometric Update – South Wales police try on-demand facial recognition app