New laws to govern the use of groundbreaking technology and maximise public safety.
Facial recognition technology that helps police catch thousands of dangerous criminals every year will be subject to tough new safeguards to ensure that the technology is used fairly and safely.
An independent watchdog will be created to provide independent oversight of police use of current and future technologies โ and could potentially stop forces from using them if they fail to comply.
It will also be made clear that any technologies used by law enforcement must be rigorously and independently tested against bias or discrimination of age, gender or race.
And a specific law will be introduced to make it clear that police use of facial recognition must be intelligence led and proportionate, so it is only used when officers believe wanted people could be present in an area.
These changes follow a public consultation, which highlights that โ while there is strong support for its use and its effectiveness in catching offenders โ there is a need for stronger safeguards around the extent of its use.