Latest news with #RunnymedeTrust
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Facial recognition cameras too racially biased to use at Notting Hill carnival, say campaigners
The Met commissioner should scrap plans to deploy live facial recognition (LFR) at next weekend's Notting Hill carnival because the technology is riven with 'racial bias' and subject to a legal challenge, 11 civil liberty and anti-racist groups have demanded. A letter sent to Mark Rowley warns that use of instant face-matching cameras at an event that celebrates the African-Caribbean community 'will only exacerbate concerns about abuses of state power and racial discrimination within your force'. The Runnymede Trust, Liberty, Big Brother Watch, Race on the Agenda, and Human Rights Watch are among those who claim the technology 'is less accurate for women and people of colour'. The demand comes just days after ministers ramped up the deployment of vans fixed with facial recognition technology to nine forces across England and Wales. The Met said last month it would deploy specially mounted cameras at entries and exits of the two-day event in west London. As many as 2 million people attend the second biggest street festival in the world every year, held on the August bank holiday weekend. In the letter seen by the Guardian, the signatories say: 'The choice to deploy LFR at Notting Hill carnival unfairly targets the community that carnival exists to celebrate. 'The Met has been found to be institutionally racist by Baroness Casey's independent review and trust in the Met has been badly damaged by discriminatory policing. 'Targeting Notting Hill carnival with live facial recognition technology will only exacerbate concerns about abuses of state power and racial discrimination within your force.' The letter says that since the Met announced its Notting Hill plan, a high court challenge has been launched by the anti-knife campaigner Shaun Thompson. A Black British man, Thompson was wrongly identified as a criminal, held by police, and then faced demands from officers for his fingerprints. 'Mr Thompson was returning from volunteering with Street Fathers, a youth advocacy and anti-violence community organisation, when he was surrounded by officers and held for half an hour. He has likened the discriminatory impacts of LFR to 'stop and search on steroids',' the letter said. Campaigners claim the police have been allowed to 'self-regulate' their use of the technology. Officers have in the past used a setting that was subsequently shown to disproportionately misidentify Black people. An independent report by the public corporation the National Physical Laboratory found that the Met's LFR technology, which is called NeoFace, is less accurate for women and people of colour when deployed at certain settings. The report's author, Dr Tony Mansfield, acknowledged that 'if the system is run at low and easy thresholds, the system starts showing a bias against black males and females combined'. There is no legal obligation on the police to run the technology on higher settings, the letter says. In 2018, a researcher at MIT Media Lab in the US concluded that software supplied by three companies made mistakes in 21% to 35% of cases for darker-skinned women. By contrast, the error rate for light-skinned men was less than 1%. The other signatories are senior figures in Privacy Watch, Privacy International, Race Equality First, Open Rights Group, Access Now, StopWatch and Statewatch. The Met said last month the cameras would be used on the approach to and exit from the carnival, 'outside the boundaries of the event' itself, to help officers 'identify and intercept' people who pose a public safety risk. The Met has said it will only use the technology at settings that demonstrate no racial bias to uncover people wanted for the most serious offences such as knife crime and sexual assaults. However, civil liberty groups were dismayed to discover that the technology has previously been used by police in Wales to target ticket touts. About 7,000 officers and staff will be deployed on each day of the carnival, the Met said. LFR cameras on the approach to the carnival will search for people who are shown as missing and people who are subject to sexual harm prevention orders, police said. Screening arches will be deployed at some of the busiest entry points, where stop-and-search powers will be used. The event is still community-led, but senior politicians have expressed concerns about its safety, resulting in demands that it should be moved to Hyde Park or be ticketed to prevent crushes in narrow streets. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said last week that she would draw up a new legal framework for the use of LFR. 'Facial recognition will be used in a targeted way to identify sex offenders or people wanted for the most serious crimes who the police have not been able to find,' she said. The Met and South Wales police have been testing the technology. The Met says it has made 580 arrests using LFR for offences including rape, domestic abuse, knife crime, grievous bodily harm and robbery, including 52 registered sex offenders arrested for breaching their conditions. The Met deputy assistant commissioner Matt Ward, who is in charge of the policing operation for carnival this year, said the force was aware there were still 'misconceptions' about the use of live facial recognition in Black and other ethnic minority communities. 'It is right that we make the best use of available technology to support officers to do their job more effectively. That is why we will be using LFR cameras on the approach to and from carnival, outside the boundaries of the event itself. Live facial recognition is a reliable and effective tool. It has led to more than 1,000 arrests since the start of 2024. 'Independent testing by the National Physical Laboratory found that at the thresholds the MPS uses the system, it is accurate and balanced with regard to ethnicity and gender, but we know there are still misconceptions about its use, particularly in Black and other minority ethnic communities.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Facial recognition cameras too racially biased to use at Notting Hill carnival, say campaigners
The Met commissioner should scrap plans to deploy live facial recognition (LFR) at next weekend's Notting Hill carnival because the technology is riven with 'racial bias' and subject to a legal challenge, 11 civil liberty and anti-racist groups have demanded. A letter sent to Mark Rowley warns that use of instant face-matching cameras at an event that celebrates the African-Caribbean community 'will only exacerbate concerns about abuses of state power and racial discrimination within your force'. The Runnymede Trust, Liberty, Big Brother Watch, Race on the Agenda, and Human Rights Watch are among those who claim the technology 'is less accurate for women and people of colour'. The demand comes just days after ministers ramped up the deployment of vans fixed with facial recognition technology to nine forces across England and Wales. The Met said last month it would deploy specially mounted cameras at entries and exits of the two-day event in west London. As many as 2 million people attend the second biggest street festival in the world every year, held on the August bank holiday weekend. In the letter seen by the Guardian, the signatories say: 'The choice to deploy LFR at Notting Hill carnival unfairly targets the community that carnival exists to celebrate. 'The Met has been found to be institutionally racist by Baroness Casey's independent review and trust in the Met has been badly damaged by discriminatory policing. 'Targeting Notting Hill carnival with live facial recognition technology will only exacerbate concerns about abuses of state power and racial discrimination within your force.' The letter says that since the Met announced its Notting Hill plan, a high court challenge has been launched by the anti-knife campaigner Shaun Thompson. A Black British man, Thompson was wrongly identified as a criminal, held by police, and then faced demands from officers for his fingerprints. 'Mr Thompson was returning from volunteering with Street Fathers, a youth advocacy and anti-violence community organisation, when he was surrounded by officers and held for half an hour. He has likened the discriminatory impacts of LFR to 'stop and search on steroids',' the letter said. Campaigners claim the police have been allowed to 'self-regulate' their use of the technology. Officers have in the past used a setting that was subsequently shown to disproportionately misidentify Black people. An independent report by the public corporation the National Physical Laboratory found that the Met's LFR technology, which is called NeoFace, is less accurate for women and people of colour when deployed at certain settings. The report's author, Dr Tony Mansfield, acknowledged that 'if the system is run at low and easy thresholds, the system starts showing a bias against black males and females combined'. There is no legal obligation on the police to run the technology on higher settings, the letter says. In 2018, a researcher at MIT Media Lab in the US concluded that software supplied by three companies made mistakes in 21% to 35% of cases for darker-skinned women. By contrast, the error rate for light-skinned men was less than 1%. The other signatories are senior figures in Privacy Watch, Privacy International, Race Equality First, Open Rights Group, Access Now, StopWatch and Statewatch. The Met said last month the cameras would be used on the approach to and exit from the carnival, 'outside the boundaries of the event' itself, to help officers 'identify and intercept' people who pose a public safety risk. The Met has said it will only use the technology at settings that demonstrate no racial bias to uncover people wanted for the most serious offences such as knife crime and sexual assaults. However, civil liberty groups were dismayed to discover that the technology has previously been used by police in Wales to target ticket touts. About 7,000 officers and staff will be deployed on each day of the carnival, the Met said. LFR cameras on the approach to the carnival will search for people who are shown as missing and people who are subject to sexual harm prevention orders, police said. Screening arches will be deployed at some of the busiest entry points, where stop-and-search powers will be used. The event is still community-led, but senior politicians have expressed concerns about its safety, resulting in demands that it should be moved to Hyde Park or be ticketed to prevent crushes in narrow streets. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said last week that she would draw up a new legal framework for the use of LFR. 'Facial recognition will be used in a targeted way to identify sex offenders or people wanted for the most serious crimes who the police have not been able to find,' she said. The Met and South Wales police have been testing the technology. The Met says it has made 580 arrests using LFR for offences including rape, domestic abuse, knife crime, grievous bodily harm and robbery, including 52 registered sex offenders arrested for breaching their conditions. The Met deputy assistant commissioner Matt Ward, who is in charge of the policing operation for carnival this year, said the force was aware there were still 'misconceptions' about the use of live facial recognition in Black and other ethnic minority communities. 'It is right that we make the best use of available technology to support officers to do their job more effectively. That is why we will be using LFR cameras on the approach to and from carnival, outside the boundaries of the event itself. Live facial recognition is a reliable and effective tool. It has led to more than 1,000 arrests since the start of 2024. 'Independent testing by the National Physical Laboratory found that at the thresholds the MPS uses the system, it is accurate and balanced with regard to ethnicity and gender, but we know there are still misconceptions about its use, particularly in Black and other minority ethnic communities.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Disclosing suspects' ethnicity and migration status is dangerous
We share the concerns of the Runnymede Trust and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants that the proposal to allow police to reveal the ethnicity and migration status of crime suspects has scant regard for community safety (Campaigners criticise UK plans to reveal suspects' ethnicity and migration status, 10 August). After another summer of far-right discontent, the Institute of Race Relations, which monitors national developments, is concerned about the focus in some communities on vigilante justice, often justified in terms of hunting down paedophiles. The danger is that local punishment squads could deal out their own form of summary justice against anyone perceived to be an asylum seeker or a foreign criminal, with the colour of their skin marking them out for FeketeDirector, Institute of Race Relations It is not surprising that the police have been given new official guidance to issue information about the ethnicity of suspects (New guidance for UK police on releasing suspects' ethnicity and migration status, 13 August). It is astonishing, however, that the debate continues without any acknowledgment that the very attempt to classify people by racial origin is a founding principle of the worst governments of the past century. Urged to self-classify, as we are in many official forms for seemingly good reasons, no one seems prepared to say simply that the very attempt to classify people by 'racial origin' is in itself an abhorrent first step on the road to apartheid, 'remigration' and StubbsBridport, Dorset The nonsensical notion of 'transparency' has raised its ideologically loaded head again in the latest front to be opened up in the culture wars (Routinely disclosing the ethnicity of police suspects is a very dangerous step to take, 13 August). If 'transparency' is really the most important motivating factor here rather, than, say, appeasement of unpleasant far‑right views, surely the annual earnings of the accused, or their highest level of educational attainment, would be more significant in helping to portray a profile of those who are accused or suspected of criminal activity. Eddie Duggan Ipswich, Suffolk Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
10-08-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Campaigners criticise UK plans to reveal suspects' ethnicity and migration status
Anti-racism campaigners have criticised proposals to allow police to reveal the ethnicity and migration status of suspects, after a row triggered by claims police 'covered up' the backgrounds of two men charged in connection to the alleged rape of a child. The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, this week told the BBC she hoped the Law Commission would 'accelerate' a review of contempt of court and that 'guidance needs to change' about information released when a trial is pending. But the anti-racism group the Runnymede Trust – which this month claimed 'hostile language' from politicians and the media towards immigration was fuelling 'reactionary politics' – says the proposals risk framing violence against women and girls as an issue of ethnicity instead of misogyny. The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) said the proposals would 'undermine' justice. The debate was reignited after George Finch, the Reform UK leader of Warwickshire county council, accused police of a 'cover-up' over the migration status of two suspects charged after the alleged rape of the child, claiming they were asylum seekers. The force strongly denies a cover-up, saying it merely acted in line with national guidance. The details of suspects before trials are routinely limited to ensure the fairness and legal safety of proceedings. But Downing Street has called for 'transparency' to rebuild public trust after false rumours spread after 2024's Southport murders. However, campaigners warn that politicians and media are emboldening the far right by linking migration to crime. This month, the Runnymede Trust released a report that – after analysing more than 63m words from 52,990 news articles and 317 House of Commons debates on immigration between 2019 and July 2024 – found the word most strongly associated with migrants was 'illegal'. After Cooper's remarks that 'more information should be provided … including on some of those asylum issues', Dr Shabna Begum, the chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, said: 'These proposals do nothing to address the urgent issues of male sexual violence, divert attention away from women and girls and fixate on nationality and asylum status – as part of an increasingly aggressive far-right agenda. 'Instead of recycling age-old tropes about men of colour as inherently threatening to white British women, we should be centring victims and survivors of all backgrounds. 'We all deserve better than this pantomime politics that offers us easy villains but deals with none of the wider conditions where misogyny has increased.' Runnymede's recent report said there were 'many' examples of media 'stories about distressing crimes that emphasise the immigration status of the perpetrator', claiming they were used to frame asylum seekers as a potential threat to women and 'the British way of life'. The report also cited comments made by the former home secretary Suella Braverman, in the context of 2023's illegal migration bill, which linked people arriving on boats to 'heightened levels of criminality' and Robert Jenrick's X post this year that spoke of 'importing hundreds of thousands of people from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes towards women'. Runnymede's report said the 'long-term effects' of such claims would be to 'normalise' violence against women and girls by making it seem as if it is 'determined by ethnicity rather than the perpetuation of misogynist practices in society'. Cooper described the release of information about suspects as 'an operational decision for the police and Crown Prosecution Service on an individual case' to the BBC, stressing ministers had to take care to avoid legal prejudice. But Griff Ferris, the interim director of communications at JCWI, said prior release of ethnicity and migration status would 'undermine what's left of justice in this country' and make all communities 'less safe'. He added: 'This deeply irresponsible and dangerous proposal is guaranteed to fuel racist narratives and further embolden the far right. 'Policies like this send a chilling message: that some people are inherently more 'suspect'.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'The home secretary has made clear that there is a strong public interest in maximum transparency wherever that is possible. 'That is why the Home Office and College of Policing are working together to strengthen and clarify the guidance around how and when information is released.' Ahmad Mulakhil has been charged with rape and Mohammad Kabir has been charged with kidnap and strangulation after an alleged attack on a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton in July.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Call for teacher anti-racism training in south-east England
Calls are being made to increase training for teachers dealing with racism in the classroom following a rise in suspensions in Kent comes as one young Kent woman opened up about the racism she experienced during her school years when she was "ganged up on" by classmates.A leader of the head teachers' trade union and the chief executive of a national race equality think tank told BBC South East more could be done to back teachers in confronting government says racism and discrimination have "absolutely no place in our schools". Latest figures show there were 223 suspensions for racist abuse in Kent and Medway during the 2023/24 spring up from 146 suspensions issued during the same term the year Likuluta, aged 21, told the BBC how she suffered from racism as a teenager at her school."It was the most difficult time in my life," she said."I was ganged up on by some of my peers, and they were backing the people saying racist comments to me."She took it upon herself to challenge racism when she became head girl."I got to a point where I said 'you know what, a change needs to be made and that change started with me,'" she said. Dr Shabna Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, a race equality think tank, said: "Our research on specific subject areas like history, english literature and art and design shows time and again that teachers feel ill-equipped to talk about race and racism in their classrooms."Ms Begum said many teachers avoid the race issue as they "are worried they will get it wrong."She said: "Initial teacher education should require all new teachers to undergo training on antiracism, inclusion and diversity." This should be considered "a key competency for entering the teaching profession", Dr Begum Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "Schools do a huge amount to tackle racism and work hard to support pupils to develop positive and respectful relationships so that all students feel accepted and valued."However, we should always strive to do more, and we are calling for everyone working in schools to receive regular mandatory anti-racism training as part of the Keeping Children Safe in Education training." Adapting practices The Department for Education has been reviewing the National Curriculum, and Show Racism the Red Card has written to the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget anti-racism education charity is calling for teachers and other school staff to receive training on racist Brighton & Hove, the city council introduced an anti-racist education strategy in including anti-racist training for teachers have already been council says the training has helped to give school staff a more nuanced and empathetic understanding of the impact of racial Sparham, a primary school teacher, is one of the council's anti-racist education advisers."Our approach is to support teachers to have a fuller knowledge of what race and racism is so they can adapt their own practice," she added. A Kent County Council spokesperson said "awareness of the issues and access to support has increased", while Medway Council said in a statement that it offers "a range of support to schools, including training for staff, and support for Medway's young people to help them achieve their full potential".A Department for Education spokesperson said its mission was to "break down the barriers to opportunity"."Our independent curriculum and assessment review aims to deliver a curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society, ensuring all children and young people are represented," they said. If you have been affected by any of these issues you can find support at the BBC Action Line here.
