Security

OBSCC annual report highlights advanced AI capabilities

Posted 10 February 2023

The 2021-2022 annual report from the Office of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (OBSCC) was laid in Parliament yesterday, highlighting a range of security issues, including the challenges and opportunities presented by advances in the capability of AI-driven biometric surveillance.

Image courtesy OBSCC

The Commissioner, Professor Fraser Sampson, is responsible for overseeing police use of DNA and fingerprints in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and for encouraging the proper use of public space surveillance cameras.

The Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s annual report, submitted to the Home Secretary on 14th November 2022, sets out Professor Sampson’s findings in relation to his statutory responsibilities and other observations about the use of biometrics and overt surveillance.

Issues discussed include:

improvements in data losses from counter-terrorism databases (paragraph 27)
increase in police requests to keep biometrics of unconvicted people (paragraphs 28 to 32)
police losses of DNA through sample handling errors (paragraphs 72 to 75)
caps on samples by forensic science providers (paragraph 76)
current trends and the future use biometrics (paragraphs 87 to 92)
police use of facial recognition and artificial intelligence (AI) (paragraphs 93 to 116)
demise of the Surveillance Camera Code (paragraphs 121 to 129)
UK failures in ethical procurement of surveillance equipment related to human rights abuses in China (paragraphs 133-138)
lack of regulation and mission creep in use of ANPR, the UK’s largest non-military database (paragraphs 139 to 147)
use of drones / unmanned aerial vehicles (paragraphs 157 to 165)

Professor Sampson said: "The areas of biometrics and surveillance are becoming both increasingly important and increasingly interrelated. In recent years we have seen an explosion of surveillance technology in the public and private realms, with devices such as drones and body worn video, dashcams and smart doorbells. At the same time, there have been enormous advances in the power of AI to exploit the vast amount of surveillance data now being produced.

"I believe that many of the issues raised in my report show that we urgently need to wake up to the opportunities presented and the threats posed by, the explosion of capability in AI-driven biometric surveillance. If we fail, we risk missing out on the potential benefits it can offer and exposing ourselves to the potential dangers it poses.

"Now more than ever, we need a clear, comprehensive and coherent framework to ensure proper regulation and accountability in these crucial areas.

"It’s already the case that the police are not making as much use as the public might expect of biometric surveillance technology such as facial recognition. At the same time, there is uncertainty around the regulatory framework for ensuring legitimacy and accountability if and when they do use such technology.

"Biometric surveillance technologies can undoubtedly be intrusive to privacy and raise other human rights considerations, but there is no question that they can also be powerful weapons in the fight against serious crime and safeguard other fundamental rights such as the right to life and freedom from degrading or inhumane treatment.

"The extent to which the public will tolerate facial recognition and other emerging biometric surveillance technology will depend largely upon whether they believe there are mechanisms in place to make sure they’re used lawfully, responsibly and according to a set of clear principles that ensure their use is dictated by what society agrees is acceptable and not simply by what technology makes possible.

"Effective oversight of police surveillance and their retention and use of biometrics generally is an important part of the wider trust and confidence agenda. The government is revising the oversight arrangements and I have agreed to reappointment while Parliament decides what that reformed oversight should look like."

The annual report for 2021-22 is likely the last annual report by the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner because abolition of the role is proposed in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill currently on its way through Parliament.

To access the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner's annual report and the government's response to the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, click here .