Forces must delete `innocent` people`s custody photos

Almost 20 million photos of suspects face possible deletion from police records after a Home Office review found they were being retained illegally. A Home Office review revealed that, as of July 2016, there was more than 19 million custody images on the Police National Database (PND) – 16 million of which are searchable using facial recognition software. Despite a High Court ruling in 2012 that retaining images of people not convicted of an offence on a database was unlawful, forces in England and Wales have continued to do so. The report, ordered by ministers following the ruling, also recommended that police should automatically review all of the custody images they hold after specified periods to ensure they are only retaining those they need to keep. Those who were photographed after being arrested and taken to a custody suite are among the 19 million images, but the Biometrics Commissioner Paul Wiles has estimated that the PND includes hundreds and thousands of images of “individuals who have never been charged with, let alone convicted of, an offence”. After considering a “weeding” exercise in which forces delete all the custody photos they do not need, the review decided against it as it would be “unduly complex” and a “poor use of taxpayer’s money”. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said custody images play a key role in everyday policing as officers use them to identify suspects and those on bail. “The review acknowledges the important role that custody images and facial searching plays in the detection and prevention of crime. However, it recognises the need to strike a careful balance between protecting individual privacy and giving the police the tools they need to keep us safe,” she said. “Accordingly, following consultation with key partners, the principal recommendation is to allow ‘unconvicted persons’ to apply for deletion of their custody image, with a presumption that this will be deleted unless retention is necessary for a policing purpose and there is an exceptional reason to retain it. “In practice, this will mean that people could apply to chief officers for their image to be deleted where they have not been convicted of the offence in relation to which their image was taken.” In the case of children under 18, chief constables must have a “highly exceptional reason” to refuse deletion. Minister for Policing and Fire Brandon Lewis said: “Custody images and facial searching play an important role in the detection and prevention of crime but there is a clear need to strike a careful balance between protecting an individual’s privacy and giving the police the tools they need to keep us safe. “I believe the recommendations of this important review strike the right balance. They will now be passed to the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing to take forward, and I expect the changes to guidance to come into effect in the near future.”