Commissioner to review police use of body-worn camera data

Body-worn camera data collected by Police Scotland will be subject to a review, in a first-of-its-kind assessment by the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner.

The commissioner, Dr Brian Plastow, has published his strategic plan for the next four years and said he will carry out a review of the collection and use of fingerprints by police in Scotland.

The role was set up partially due to a scandal around the misidentification of a fingerprint in a 1997 murder probe, which led to detective Shirley McKie being charged and later acquitted of perjury.

The first review, set to be published next spring, will focus on the acquisition, retention, use and destruction of fingerprints for criminal justice and police purposes.

A strategic plan has been launched for 2025-2029, and will also look at the collection and use of data from body-worn cameras used by Police Scotland officers and staff.

Other areas include the policy and practice in relation to the images and voice data obtained by Police Scotland from electronic devices, including phones, computers and smart watches.

The commissioner will also examine the retrieval and analysis of audio, video and photographs from crime scenes or post-mortem examinations.

Dr Plastow said: “Biometric data such as fingerprints and photographs have been used in policing and criminal justice in Scotland as a means of verification, identification and exclusion for more than 100 years.

“In the last decade, there has been an exponential growth in the range of new biometrics, and a proliferation of databases operating and exchanging biometric data, including the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to develop algorithms for biometric matching.

“These issues raise important questions for society, including how best to balance our need for public safety and security with broader privacy, ethical, human rights, and equality considerations.

“The principles of proportionality and necessity, and the long-established principle of policing by consent in Scotland, suggest the need to be careful about the extent of future encroachment.

“The areas in which we propose to conduct our thematic assurance reviews are linked to our duty to support and promote, and take cognisance of areas of risk with a preventative focus.

“With our strategic plan, we aim to deliver measurable outcomes that support public safety, protect individual rights, and uphold the integrity of biometric practices across Scotland.”

The role of commissioner is to support and promote the adoption of lawful, effective and ethical practices around biometric data in the justice sector.