FOI 522/25
REQUEST
I write to request information and records under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), regarding the use of facial recognition technology.
Questions 1-6 relate to the period from January 2023 to present.
- Has South Wales Police deployed live facial recognition?
- Please provide dates and locations for each deployment.
- Has South Wales Police used any form of retrospective facial recognition?
- Please specify whether this is via the Police National Database (PND), any other database, or a combination.
- If any database other than the PND was accessed for the purposes of retrospective facial recognition, please specify the database(s) and the number of searches that have been conducted.
- Has South Wales Police deployed operator initiated facial recognition?
- Please provide dates and locations for each deployment.
- Has South Wales Police deployed any form of facial recognition in conjunction with body-worn video?
- Please provide dates and locations for each deployment.
- Where live facial recognition has been used:
- How many individuals were on the watchlist used in each instance?
- How many of those on the watchlist were not wanted for arrest in each instance?
- For what reasons were these people included?
- At each deployment, how many alerts were generated?
- How many of these were true alerts (confirmed and unconfirmed) and how many were false alerts (confirmed and unconfirmed)?
- Please provide the engagement outcomes for each deployment, showing how many resulted in arrest, other disposal, or no action.
- Does South Wales Police plan to deploy live facial recognition?
- If so, please specify dates and locations of any planned trials or deployments.
- Does South Wales Police plan to deploy operator initiated facial recognition?
- If so, please specify dates and locations of any planned trials or deployments.
- Please provide any internal policy document, guidelines or legal basis governing South Wales Police’s use of facial recognition technology, including any Data Protection Impact Assessment.
RESPONSE
We consulted with our Digital Services Division who have provided the below response to your request.
Questions 1, 5a, 6 & 9
As this is available in the public domain, we are therefore not obliged to provide this information as the following exemption applies:
Section 21 – Information Accessible by Other Means.
This is an absolute, class-based exemption which means that a public authority is not required to consider the public interest in disclosure.
Under Section 16, the duty to provide advice and assistance, please see the below links:
Questions 1, 5a & 6 - canlyniadau-lleoliadau-results-of-deployments-for-live-facial-recognition-lfr.pdf
Question 9 - Facial Recognition Technology | South Wales Police
Question 2a
South Wales Police utilise PND and also a local RFR capability.
Question 2b
Local RFR searches are conducted against the South Wales Police and Gwent Police joint Custody Database. Local RFR has searched against the South Wales Police and Gwent Police Custody database on 11039 occasions since January 2023
Question 3
Use of OIFR is not through a Deployment but rather based on the individual to justify use. On this basis, there have been:
- 21 uses in the Swansea/ Neath/ Port Talbot area
- 25 uses in Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan area
- 2 uses in the Mid-Glamorgan area
Your request for specific dates and locations for each deployment has been considered and we are not obliged to supply this information. The following exemptions apply:
Section 31 (1)(a)(b) – Law Enforcement
Section 40(2) - Personal Information
Section 31 is a qualified, prejudice-based exemption and the legislators accept that there may be harm if released. The authority is therefore required to articulate the harm that may be caused and consider the public interest arguments for and against the disclosure of the information.
Section 40(2) is an absolute class-based exemption and therefore the authority is not required to consider the public interest in disclosure.
Overall Harm
A disclosure in response to a Freedom of Information request is not a disclosure to the individual applicant but a release into the public domain. It is important that a Police Force safeguards its effective and efficient service and does not disclose information that could undermine that.
Disclosure of the requested information would reveal our tactical capabilities and compromise the prevention or detection of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders. This would hinder future investigations by assisting those who are intent on undertaking criminal activity.
Factors favouring Section 31
By disclosing the requested information, this would provide openness and transparency and better awareness to the public.
Factors against Section 31
The security of the public is of paramount importance and the Police Service will not divulge information if to do so could compromise law enforcement.
Balance Test
Whilst there is public interest in police transparency, there is stronger public interest in safeguarding information which could assist those who wish to disrupt the police service.
Therefore it is our opinion that for these issues the balance test lies in favour of withholding the information.
The Data Protection Act covers processing of personal data about a living individual. Personal data means data which relate to a living individual who can be identified-
- from those data, or
- from those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller or any other person in respect of the individual.
Information will “relate to” a person if it is about them, linked to them, has some biographical significance for them, is used to inform decisions affecting them, has them as its main focus or impacts on them in any way.
If we disclosed these details, this would provide significant detail which could identify an individual and would breach the first principle of the Data Protection Act 2018.
In accordance with the Act, this letter acts as a refusal notice for this part of your request.
Question 4
South Wales Police has not trialled or deployed facial recognition in regard to body worn video
Question 5b & c
Deployment DateNot sought for arrest
| Beyonce | 15/05/2023 | 2 - Missing Persons 9 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Harry Styles | 20/06/2023 | 8 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Harry Styles | 21/06/2023 | 8 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Swansea Airshow | 01/07/2023 | 22 - Missing Persons 18 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Swansea Airshow | 02/07/2023 | 7 - Missing Persons 19 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Wales v England - rugby | 05/08/2023 | 8 - Managed offenders with conditions 6 - Missing persons |
| Wales v South Africa - rugby | 19/08/2023 | 4 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Scooter | 08/09/2023 | 6 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Chemical Brothers | 09/09/2023 | 6 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Wales v Barbarians | 04/11/2023 | 32 - Managed offenders with conditions 15 - missing persons |
| Op advent - Swansea | 01/12/2023 | 1 - Missing person |
| Neighbourhood Day of Action - Pontypridd | 24/02/2024 | 26 - Individuals suspected to be at risk of child sexual exploitation or perpetrators of Child sexual exploitation |
| County Lines Intensification - Day of action | 07/03/2024 | 119 - individuals suspected to be at risk of child sexual exploitation or perpetrators or child sexual exploitation |
| Wales v Italy | 16/03/2024 | 79 Missing person images |
| Neighbourhood day of Action - Talbot Green | 14/04/2024 | 14 - Missing Person images |
| Bruce Springsteen | 05/05/2025 | 8 - Managed offenders with conditions 21 - missing person images |
| Op Sceptre - Swansea | 16/05/2024 | 52 - individuals suspected to be victims or perpetrators of county lines exploitation 70 - missing person images |
| Taylor Swift | 18/06/2024 | 13 - managed offenders with conditions 62 - missing person images |
| Foo Fighters - cardiff | 25/06/2024 | 13 - managed offenders with conditions 145 - missing person images |
| Eric Prydz @ cardiff Castle | 29/06/2024 | 18 - Managed offenders with conditions 62 - missing persons |
| Wales Airshow | 06/07/2024 | 11 - Missing Persons |
| Wales Airshow | 07/07/2025 | 11 - Missing Persons |
| Op Chirk - Swansea | 25/09/2024 | 12 - missing persons |
| Op Sentinel - Cardiff | 05/10/2024 | 11 - Missing persons |
| Op Sentinel - Swansea | 11/10/2024 | 13 - Missing Persons |
| Op Sentinel - Bridgend | 19/10/2024 | 61 - Missing person images |
| Wales v Australia | 17/11/2024 | 22 - Managed offenders with conditions |
| Op Chirk - Bridgend | 04/12/2024 | 15 - managed offender with conditions 12 - Missing Persons |
| Op blume - Mid-glam | 18/12/2024 | |
| Op blume - Mid-glam | 19/12/2024 | 17 - Managed offenders with conditions 13 - Missing persons |
| Op Sentinel - Bridgend | 09/02/2025 | 15 - Managed offender with conditions 15 - Missing Persons |
| Wales v Ireland - 6 Nations | 22/02/2025 | 598 - managed offenders with conditions 15 - missing persons |
| Wales v England - 6 Nations | 15/03/2025 | 543 - Managed offenders with conditions 13 - Missing persons |
Question 7
South Wales Police already uses Live facial recognition.
Deployments are advertised online at appropriate times via the South Wales Police website and South Wales Police social media
Question 8
South Wales Police has already launched a pilot of OIFR. This is released across South Wales Police where Officers can justify the necessity for its use. For this reason, it is not possible to determine specific dates or times where OIFR will be utilised.