Responding to Met Police continuing to push for the use of facial recognition surveillance in shops, Mark Johnson, advocacy manager at Big Brother Watch said:
“This operation from the Metropolitan Police comes at a time when the force continually fails to answer urgent 999 calls in a timely manner. It is clear that London is experiencing serious problems with shoplifting but surveillance technology which is used in the total absence of safeguards or even any kind of parliamentary scrutiny is not a substitute for a well resourced police force who are on hand to provide assistance to the public when it is asked of them.
“We urgently need a democratic, lawful approach to the role of facial biometrics in Britain, and without this, police forces should not be using this Orwellian technology at all. Strict rules govern police use of DNA and fingerprints, yet police are writing their own rules on the use of our face prints.”
Notes:
Spokespeople are available for interviews. Contact Big Brother Watch’s 24h media line on 07730439257 or email info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk
You can find more information regarding facial recognition on Big Brother Watch’s website.