UK police forces lobbied to use biased facial recognition technology

UK police forces lobbied to use a facial recognition system for retrospective searches that was known to be biased against women, young people, and ethnic minorities. The Home Office admitted the bias after a 2024 review by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) revealed higher misidentification rates for these groups. Initially, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) increased the confidence threshold to mitigate the bias. However, this decision was reversed after police forces complained that it significantly reduced the number of potential matches from the police national database (PND). Documents show police argued that the higher threshold made the system less effective, despite its reduction in bias. The Home Office and NPCC have not disclosed the current threshold being used.

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