A guide to policing databases and predictive policing tools

Long Read

Post date

29th June 2021

graphics of police looking at map and monitor

Explainer

How the 'Law Enforcement Data Service' (LEDS) can be used at protests

This guide explains how policing databases can be used at a protest and negatively affect individuals' lives (UK edition)

Explainer

How predictive policing can be used at protests

The police may use facial recognition technology, IMSI catchers, geo-location technology and other tools to identify protesters and add them to databases or watchlists, feeding into their 'predictive policing' tools. Here's what you need to know (UK edition).

As well as surveillance of your face and body, and surveillance of your phone, police forces also build databases and data sets that can enable them to monitor, track and identify people at protests.

Details of people stored in these databases and data sets can be used as watchlists at protests. The police might also use facial recognition technology, IMSI catchers or geo-location technology to identify protesters and add them to these databases or watchlists.

Our campaign

The End of Privacy in Public

Free to Protest (UK)

PI write to UK MPs following a debate in parliament on police use of facial recognition technology

Following a debate in the UK parliament on police use of facial recognition technology we wrote to the MPs who intervened calling on them to expedite this matter further by tabling questions to members of the government.

News & Analysis

Facial recognition camera scanning the face of a customer in supermarket

UK government announces tender for live facial recognition technology

The UK government publishes procurement for live facial recognition technology to be used by police forces across the UK.

Advocacy

UK MPs ignore concerned constituents questions about Facial Recognition Technology

In this piece, we unpack the responses received from UK Members of Parliament between November 2023 and June 2024 following the initial launch of our campaign “The End of Privacy in Public”, and discuss the current state of regulation of FRT in the UK. In doing so, we reiterate our call for FRT’s use to be effectively regulated.