An opposition politician in Scotland has queried the country's police department budgeting £725,000 (US$1.06 mn) to help support a national facial recognition database that has stoked controversy.Liberal Democrat MSP Alison McInnes, who found the Police Scotland funding through a parliamentary question, said the database was a useful tool in fighting crime.However, The Scotsman reported that she also said: “We need to make sure there are checks and balances there, when it comes to facial recognition”.In March, A British parliamentary committee tasked with looking into the implications of biometric technology recommended that a commissioner be given new powers over the facial recognition system.Alastair MacGregor, Biometrics Commissioner, had revealed in February that a policeman had told him that 12 million-plus custody photographs had been uploaded to the Police National Database and that facial recognition software being applied to them. A Police Scotland spokesman told The Scotsman: “In common with all other contributing forces and law-enforcement agencies, Police Scotland provides funding for the development, maintenance, access and use of PND, the UK-wide database set up as a recommendation of the Bichard inquiry ߪ It is a vital tool for helping us to keep people safe and prevent and detect crime.”
Scottish police to spend US$1 mn on UK face database
