Biometrics commissioner urges primary legislation on facial recognition in policing

The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner has written to Neil Gray regarding any future use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) by Police Scotland, urging that primary legislation be considered.  

Brian Plastow has written to the justice secretary asking him to consider legislating for the creation of a statutory basis and framework for the “limited and proportionate” use of LFR by Police Scotland.  

It follows the King’s Speech earlier this month, which set out the UK Government’s intention to establish a new legal framework for England and Wales to underpin the force’s use of facial recognition and similar technologies, making it clear when these technologies can be justified.

In Scotland, the force does not possess LFR technology, while in England and Wales, the Home Office has expanded its investment in recent years, with 50 facial recognition vans now available to English and Welsh regional forces.  

Plastow said: “Against this context, it is inconceivable that Police Scotland will not want equitability of access to such technology in future not least to enable them to respond effectively to serious and organised crime group activity, as part of counter-terrorism policing operations, to assist in the co-ordination of UK-wide activity against county-lines drug dealers, and as part of a strategic policing response to address the national emergency of male violence towards women and girls.  

“In relation this last aspect, it is worthy of note that LFR has had considerable success in England and Wales in identifying Registered Sex Offenders  either unlawfully at large and wanted on warrant or alternatively acting in breach of a sexual harm prevention order and in the Metropolitan Police area 10 per cent of arrests through LFR deployments relate to sex offenders posing a danger to the local community.”

However, in England and Wales, the technology was introduced without primary legislation.  

The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner said the law “rarely keeps pace with rapid advances in such technologies”, often meaning they begin to be used “within a legal vacuum”.  

He told Gray that primary legislation “may establish legal and democratic legitimacy as well as public accountability through the scrutiny of elected members of the parliament”.

Plastow said: “My purpose in writing to you is to advocate a different approach for Scotland and to ask ministers to consider bringing forward primary legislation in Scotland to create a statutory basis and enabling framework for the limited and proportionate use of LFR in Scotland by Police Scotland within legislative guardrails approved by the Scottish Parliament for its use.  

“As you know, in October 2025, the SNP conference approved a resolution proposing that LFR systems should not be implemented in Scotland without passing through primary legislation at the Scottish Parliament. This is a position which I have stated publicly that I support.”

In February, the vice chair of the Scottish Police Authority, Alasdair Hay, said “no decision has been made regarding the implementation or otherwise of LFR”.  

He added: “What has been decided is that Police Scotland will continue to explore the potential use of LFR – in doing so, it will consult with the public and stakeholders.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The lawful, effective and proportionate use of any technology with facial recognition capability is an operational matter for Police Scotland, who must abide by data protection laws, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner’s statutory code of practice.

“As Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority have made clear, their considerations around the potential use of live facial recognition technology are ongoing.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Our consideration and the national conversation on the potential use of live facial recognition by police in Scotland is ongoing.”