Biometrics and Identification
Beyond facial images, police forces increasingly use fingerprint, DNA, iris, voice and gait data to identify individuals. Biometric data is treated as special category data under UK GDPR, which places significant constraints on how it may be collected, retained and shared. This section covers the technology, the retention debate, and oversight by the Biometrics Commissioner.
Latest coverage
The Supreme Court is to hear a legal challenge over whether Delhi Police can use facial recognition on protesters. Member of Parliament A A Rahim has submitted a plea challenging…
The Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to examine whether the Delhi Police have legal backing to use facial recognition technology. The court will look into the force's use of…
The Supreme Court will examine the legality of Delhi Police using facial recognition and biometric surveillance against protesters. The court cited potential privacy violations.
Italy's Senate has cleared a police biometric surveillance decree concerning facial recognition and the EU AI Act. The decree permits the retention of facial data collected from…
Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament AA Rahim has filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi Police's use of facial recognition technology and…
Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament A.A. Rahim has petitioned the Supreme Court to ban the Delhi Police from using facial recognition technology and mass surveillance during…
At the end of April 2026, the German federal cabinet passed "Security Package 2.0", amending the BKA Act and the Federal Police Act to significantly expand digital investigative…
The Huntington City Council is scheduled to vote on Monday regarding a professional services contract for the Huntington Police Department. The proposed contract encompasses…
Cheshire Constabulary will deploy Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology in Chester city centre on Saturday, July 11. The deployment aims to help officers identify wanted…
The Bundestag's Interior Committee has approved an amended draft bill reforming the 1994 Federal Police Act to grant the Federal Police expanded digital surveillance powers. Under…
The Vadgaon Maval court has extended the police custody of Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary, the two accused in the Ketan Agarwal murder case, by four days until 3 July. The court…
The Saxon state parliament has approved a reform of its police law with a narrow 60 to 53 vote, significantly expanding digital surveillance powers for investigators in the…
The German Bundesrat has called for significant changes to a proposed federal legislative package that would regulate automated image matching on the internet and AI-supported…
HMRC is planning to use artificial intelligence to monitor taxpayers, collect additional data and send automatic nudges. These plans include reintroducing voice recognition…
The Met’s live facial recognition trial in Croydon has drawn criticism from Big Brother Watch. Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at the organisation, said shoppers…
Jake Hurfurt, the head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch, has stated that biometric identification checks should not be a condition for walking down high streets…
On 7 April 2026, Montreal-based company Winston AI launched a forensic image detection service designed to identify deepfakes, synthetic media, and manipulated visual content.…