Police officers will be given new rules on when live facial recognition technology can be used to snare criminals, a minister has revealed.
Policing minister Sarah Jones said the Home Office will launch a consultation later this year on how the cameras are used amid privacy, accuracy and intrusion fears.
Ms Jones admitted “there isn’t really much of a structure around what it’s used for”.
But she defended the technology, insisting it has been “very successful in catching very serious criminals.”
The cameras give officers intelligence by matching their faces with records held on the Police National Computer.
The Labour minister revealed at a fringe event at Labour’s party conference: “We need to put some parameters around what we can use facial recognition for.
“There has been some advice on how we use it. But we need to go further to make sure it’s clear when it should be used and when it shouldn’t be used, to put some structure around it.
“Because there isn’t really much of a structure around what it’s used for at the moment.
“We need to look at whether that’s enough and whether we need to do more.
“We’re going to consult on what that should look like, so we can assure the public that it’s being used in the right way.”
Defending facial recognition technology, Ms Jones said it had been “very successful in catching very serious criminals”.
Ms Jones went on: “We just need to make sure it’s clear what it’s going to be used for going forward.
“If we are going to use it more, if we do want to roll it out across the country, what are the parameters?
“Let’s make sure people understand that it’s a conversation we need to have, because people have raised it as an issue, both parliamentarians and the public, and they want to understand how this is going to be used.”
Rab Donnelly, General Secretary of the USDAW union, urged ministers and police forces to roll it more widely.
He said: “We’re already trying it in Sainsbury’s in three workplaces, and we need to make sure it is actually rolled out.
“Going forward, this is going to be very advantageous.”
The UK’s second largest supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s, has started an eight-week trial before potentially rolling out the technology nationwide.
Sainsbury’s has said the technology is part of its efforts to identify shoplifters and combat record levels of retail crime, including violence against staff.