Threat to the public; Police can access passport photos risks public trust in the authority
The brand new initiative was unveiled at an event at the Conservative Party conference organized in Manchester, held by Chris Philp, policing minister. The surveillance camera commissioner of the UK has shown his concern as the government has decided to allow police access to passport photos for crime purposes (to catch criminals). However, the public is generally concerned as this approach can risk public trust in law enforcement. Paul Gerrard has criticized the police as they fail to attend to over 70% of serious crimes that are reported.
Prof Sampson shared, ‘The state has large collections of good quality photographs of a significant proportion of the population – drivers and passport holders being good examples – which were originally required and given as a condition of, say, driving and international travel,’ moreover added, ‘If the state routinely runs every photograph against every picture of every suspected incident of crime simply because it can there is a significant risk of disproportionality and damaging public trust.’
In addition to the matter, Mr. Philip said to the Conservative party in the recent week, ‘I’m going to be asking police forces to search all of those databases — the police national database, which has custody images, but also other databases like the passport database.’ Continued saying that he wished for a system that would authorize officers to ‘press one button’ and ‘search it all.’
Moreover, the Home Office commented on the Government, said, ‘committed to making sure the police have the tools and technology they need to solve and prevent crimes, bring offenders to justice, and keep people safe.’ Furthermore added, ‘Technology such as facial recognition can help the police quickly and accurately identify those wanted for serious crimes, as well as missing or vulnerable people.’ Continued, ‘It also frees up police time and resources, meaning more officers can be out on the beat, engaging with communities and carrying out complex investigations.’
Similarly, home affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, Alistair Carmichael expressed that the party would be opposing the proposals in each step.
Regardless of the criticism and negative feedback some still believe that a huge crackdown on crime is essential to pick an increasing shoplifting problem in the United Kingdom. Famous media houses reported that Philp is eager to avoid a situation similar to America. Well, the debate keeps continuing but, understandably, a balance is required. The advocacy groups are asking for better transparency to prevent the misuse of opportunities.
I am Darryl Broadhurst and i give investors an insight into the most recent news hitting the “Technology” sector in Wall Street. I have been an independent financial adviser for over 11 years in the city and in recent years turned my experience in finance and passion for journalism into a full time role. I perform analysis of Companies and publicizes valuable information for shareholder community.
