Latest news with #Plastow
BBC News
25-03-2025
- BBC News
Custody photos too poor for facial recognition technology
Photos taken of suspects arrested in Scotland are often too low quality to be used by facial recognition technology, a report has confirmed. The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner and His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) raised concerns about the quality of custody images being added to national databases. Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow said a "sizeable proportion" of those taken between 2019 and 2024 are of such low quality they are unsuitable for software used across the UK to link suspects to other crimes. Police Scotland said they were already aware of this issue and would consider recommendations in the report. Police forces across the UK upload images of everyone they arrest to the Police National Database (PND), which allows officers to detect potential matches with photographs of suspects captured and uploaded from sources including video doorbells and intelligence sharing system can lead to a person arrested for one crime being linked to numerous unsolved crimes. While custody photographs remain mostly low-quality, Police Scotland will be unable to take part in new facial matching services, including the controversial live facial recognition have previously warned that using live facial recognition on members of the public would be a "radical departure from Police Scotland's fundamental principle of policing by consent."But the report highlighted the problem with the current use of retrospective image search technology (RIST) when the custody images were not adequate. Figures from Police Scotland revealed that a potential match was found in just 2% of RIST it also gave examples of successes in Scotland including the sexual assault of a tourist who was then sent offensive messages and images from the matched the photo from his messaging app to a custody photo taken more than 20 years recognition technology can also be used to compare images on the the Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) to identify victims and perpetrators of online child sexual abuse. Suspects 'not being detected' Dr Plastow said: "While carrying out this assurance review we were informed about the insufficient quality and resolution of Scottish images on the Police Scotland Criminal History System, which affects a portion of custody images captures between 2019-2024."This means a sizeable portion of custody images are not searchable under PND facial search functionality."This gap could mean that people who have had their custody image previously taken, are not being detected on future probe images uploaded by Police Scotland, which could lead to crimes not being detected."The report stated that the force said a "software issue" was causing the custody images to be captured at a lower than recommended minimum images were then being additionally compressed using a technique that left them unsuitable for use with the PND. Dr Plastow added: "Extreme caution must be exercised with any retrospective ICT fix to uncompress these images."If they cannot be fully restored to their original format, the reliability of the data could be significantly compromised."Dr Plastow said there needed to be "transparency, robust governance and independent oversight" when using biometrics. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said Police Scotland would consider the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner's recommendations in full."Our Biometrics Oversight Board is already aware of this issue and is overseeing work to improve the quality of images taken in custody and the collaboration with Home Office Strategic Facial Matcher Project, which mirrors the recommendations," he said.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Police Scotland ‘not recording ethnicity correctly' on DNA database
Police Scotland was warned it was not recording DNA ethnicity data correctly amid a row around allegations of institutional racism within the force. Former Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone said Police Scotland 'is institutionally racist and discriminatory', months before retiring in August 2023. However the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, Dr Brian Plastow, called on Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to review procedures for recording ethnicity when it collects DNA or other biometric data following arrest – and issued a report saying failure to do so correctly was 'concerning'. Less than 1,000 crimes a year in Scotland are solved using DNA – typically murders, assaults and sex offences – and Police Scotland was told to develop a biometrics strategy including cost, to be approved and in place before October 31. Biometric data includes DNA and fingerprints, and publicly available information on the UK's National DNA Database allows scrutiny to see if any ethnic group is over-represented – with black citizens accounting for 7.5%, despite being 4% of the UK population according to the 2021/22 census. The 2022 Scottish census noted that 1.3% of the population is of black heritage – however, no details about ethnicity are recorded on the Scottish DNA Database (SDNAD), which is almost 30 years old, meaning experts were unable to establish if there was over-representation. A decade after a £6 million investment in world-class DNA technology in the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire, the benefits 'have not been fully realised', and 70% of the profiles are of a lower scientific standard due to a failure to re-test offenders, the report warned. Properly recording data would support Police Scotland's equality duties and help maintain public confidence, amid allegations of 'institutional racism', supported by Chief Constable Jo Farrell, it was said. Dr Plastow said: 'SPA Forensic Services and Police Scotland were unable to provide us with any reliable management information on the ethnicity of anyone held within SDNAD as the database is nearly 30 years old and not designed to record this information. 'Failing to properly record and publish data on ethnicity of arrested people whose biometric data is held is concerning, against the context of the former and current chief constables having stated that institutional racism persists. 'We have been unable to establish whether there is over-representation on grounds of ethnicity or any protected characteristic.' As an alternative, Police Scotland were asked to provide ethnicity data from its National Custody System, for arrests from 2023 to 2024 where DNA was taken. However, this mandatory information was 'incomplete' and 'unreliable', Dr Plastow said. He added: 'The data extract obtained by Police Scotland was incomplete and so heavily caveated to render it unreliable.' Seven recommendations were made after a joint review with the SPA and the Leverhulme Institute of Forensic Science, on the acquisition, retention, use and destruction of DNA. Dr Plastow said: 'DNA provided a potential investigative lead in only 0.34% of recorded crime in Scotland in 2023 to 2024, but those investigative leads can be spectacular.' The report highlighted that where a criminal has been re-arrested, no fresh DNA sample is routinely taken if a lower standard DNA profile was recorded predating 2014 – despite investment that year which gave Police Scotland access to the most advanced DNA analysis facilities available internationally. In 2014, after the establishment of Police Scotland and the SPA, the Scottish Government spent £6 million on the new DNA testing facility, but a decision not to re-test samples predating 2014, means less than a third of offenders' profiles are currently of the newer DNA24 standard, it was warned. Dr Plastow said: 'When the new facility opened there were more than 250,000 samples A decision was taken on the grounds of cost and laboratory capacity not to do any bulk back record conversion, as it would have cost more than £10 million. 'More than 10 years after the introduction of DNA24, 69.9% of profiles held are still of a lower scientific standard.' Police Scotland was urged to review its DNA Confirmed policy to increase DNA24 profiles, for more effective investigations, and to develop a biometrics strategy including capital expenditure before October 31. Dr Plastow said: 'Holding DNA24 profiles would lead to more effective and efficient investigations and eliminate innocent suspects more quickly. 'Without such a plan, there is no clear vision of what Police Scotland hopes to achieve with DNA, fingerprints, facial images, or other biometric enabled technologies including retrospective facial search.' Police Scotland and the SPA have been contacted for comment.
The Independent
26-02-2025
- The Independent
Police Scotland ‘not recording ethnicity correctly' on DNA database
Police Scotland was warned it was not recording DNA ethnicity data correctly amid a row around allegations of institutional racism within the force. Former Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone said Police Scotland 'is institutionally racist and discriminatory', months before retiring in August 2023. However the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, Dr Brian Plastow, called on Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) to review procedures for recording ethnicity when it collects DNA or other biometric data following arrest – and issued a report saying failure to do so correctly was 'concerning'. Less than 1,000 crimes a year in Scotland are solved using DNA – typically murders, assaults and sex offences – and Police Scotland was told to develop a biometrics strategy including cost, to be approved and in place before October 31. Biometric data includes DNA and fingerprints, and publicly available information on the UK's National DNA Database allows scrutiny to see if any ethnic group is over-represented – with black citizens accounting for 7.5%, despite being 4% of the UK population according to the 2021/22 census. The 2022 Scottish census noted that 1.3% of the population is of black heritage – however, no details about ethnicity are recorded on the Scottish DNA Database (SDNAD), which is almost 30 years old, meaning experts were unable to establish if there was over-representation. A decade after a £6 million investment in world-class DNA technology in the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire, the benefits 'have not been fully realised', and 70% of the profiles are of a lower scientific standard due to a failure to re-test offenders, the report warned. Properly recording data would support Police Scotland's equality duties and help maintain public confidence, amid allegations of 'institutional racism', supported by Chief Constable Jo Farrell, it was said. Dr Plastow said: 'SPA Forensic Services and Police Scotland were unable to provide us with any reliable management information on the ethnicity of anyone held within SDNAD as the database is nearly 30 years old and not designed to record this information. 'Failing to properly record and publish data on ethnicity of arrested people whose biometric data is held is concerning, against the context of the former and current chief constables having stated that institutional racism persists. 'We have been unable to establish whether there is over-representation on grounds of ethnicity or any protected characteristic.' As an alternative, Police Scotland were asked to provide ethnicity data from its National Custody System, for arrests from 2023 to 2024 where DNA was taken. However, this mandatory information was 'incomplete' and 'unreliable', Dr Plastow said. He added: 'The data extract obtained by Police Scotland was incomplete and so heavily caveated to render it unreliable.' Seven recommendations were made after a joint review with the SPA and the Leverhulme Institute of Forensic Science, on the acquisition, retention, use and destruction of DNA. Dr Plastow said: 'DNA provided a potential investigative lead in only 0.34% of recorded crime in Scotland in 2023 to 2024, but those investigative leads can be spectacular.' The report highlighted that where a criminal has been re-arrested, no fresh DNA sample is routinely taken if a lower standard DNA profile was recorded predating 2014 – despite investment that year which gave Police Scotland access to the most advanced DNA analysis facilities available internationally. In 2014, after the establishment of Police Scotland and the SPA, the Scottish Government spent £6 million on the new DNA testing facility, but a decision not to re-test samples predating 2014, means less than a third of offenders' profiles are currently of the newer DNA24 standard, it was warned. Dr Plastow said: 'When the new facility opened there were more than 250,000 samples A decision was taken on the grounds of cost and laboratory capacity not to do any bulk back record conversion, as it would have cost more than £10 million. 'More than 10 years after the introduction of DNA24, 69.9% of profiles held are still of a lower scientific standard.' Police Scotland was urged to review its DNA Confirmed policy to increase DNA24 profiles, for more effective investigations, and to develop a biometrics strategy including capital expenditure before October 31. Dr Plastow said: 'Holding DNA24 profiles would lead to more effective and efficient investigations and eliminate innocent suspects more quickly. 'Without such a plan, there is no clear vision of what Police Scotland hopes to achieve with DNA, fingerprints, facial images, or other biometric enabled technologies including retrospective facial search.'
