Report Summary
This report provides members of the Scottish Police Authority Policing Performance Committee with an overview of the work conducted as part of the Police Scotland, Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Biometrics Commissioner’s National Conversation on Live Facial Recognition.
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To view as accessible content please use the sections below. (Note that tables and some appendices are not available as accessible content).
Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Policing Performance Committee - 10 June 2025
Date : 10 June 2025
Location : online
The Current Legislative and Regulatory Framework in Scotland
One of the recurring themes throughout the National Conversation was around the legislative and regulatory frameworks that might govern the use of LFR.
The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 outlines the role and duties of Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. It was highlighted in the National Conversation that the role of police in Scotland differs from elsewhere in the UK – namely that the legislation specifically defines the focus on improving “safety and wellbeing” alongside the duties to prevent and detect crime, protecting life and property etc.
There is no single piece of primary legislation which provides a clear statutory framework for the use of LFR in Scotland or the UK as a whole. Any use of the technology would therefore be regulated through a blend of existing legal provisions, namely:
Human Rights Act 1998
Equality Act 2010
UK General Data Protection Regulation
Data Protection Act 2018
The legislative framework would also be supported by the Scottish Biometric Commissioner’s Code of Practice and in line with guidance on law enforcement use of LFR by the Information Commissioner’s Office (such as a Commissioner’s Opinion on use of LFR in public spaces and good practice checklists).
A further, detailed outline of the broader legislative framework, case law and regulatory landscape can be found in the discussion paper published as part of the National Conversation.
The next section discusses the findings from the National Conversation. It should be noted that despite the aforementioned legislation and regulations, there were strong opinions that given the intrusive nature of LFR that would benefit from primary legislation and / or a statutory code of practice, beyond that provided by the Scottish Biometric Commissioner’s Office.
