Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
471. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if she will detail her plans with respect to bringing forward legislation to allow for the use of facial recognition technology by gardaí; if she will indicate a timeline for the publication of a draft heads of Bill for same; if she will commit to allowing a draft Bill on the use of FRT be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33985/23]
View answerI am committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have the resources, the equipment and the technology necessary to do their jobs in protecting people from harm and saving lives.
As part of this commitment, I am working to ensure Gardaí have body worn cameras and to extend the powers governing Garda use of CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).
Such technology will enhance frontline policing capability and help prevent crime and prosecute those involved in criminal activity.
Body worn cameras, in particular, will help improve front-line capability with the accurate recording of incidents, expedite analysis, enhance situational awareness, and protect police from harm.
The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 completed committee stage last week and when enacted, will provide a legal basis for the deployment and use of body-worn cameras by An Garda Síochána.
I am also committed to introducing Facial Recognition Technology in a number of limited and defined circumstances as a tool to search evidence in the most serious of cases.
As the Deputy will be aware, following consultation with Government colleagues, the use of Facial Recognition Technology will be provided for separately in the new Garda Síochána (Digital Management and Facial Recognition Technology) Bill 2023.Reducing the amount of time it takes for Garda members to go through video footage would be of particular benefit where time is of the essence following a very serious crime being committed. The identification of a suspect in a serious crime, or finding a missing or abducted child, or where a child is subject to child abuse, would be a crucial benefit to the proposed Bill.
It is in the interests of all parties, not least victims of crime, to have criminal investigations pursued as effectively and rapidly as possible. There are compelling use cases for FRT not least in the investigation of online child sexual abuse. It is often the case that the only way to identify victims of this heinous crime is through the use of FRT, comparing images against international databases in order to identify both the victims and the perpetrators.
Similarly in a digital age, murder investigations can include thousands of hours of footage that needs to be analysed. In one murder investigation, 42,000 hours of CCTV from 150 locations had to be manually analysed by a team of Gardaí. Such uses of FRT, in particular, represent substantial advances in terms of efficiency, accuracy and even privacy.
There will be a number of safeguards included in that Bill, amongst others, a code of practice will be required, mass surveillance and profiling will be prohibited and the operation of the Bill will be kept under review by a High Court Judge.
As the Deputy will welcome, the new Bill will undergo pre-legislative scrutiny by the Oireachtas Justice committee, which will be able to invite experts from across this complex area to discuss its provisions.I will return to Cabinet for approval of the General Scheme of this Bill after the summer recess, and will publish it thereafter.
