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# Why police could soon have your face on file
- URL: https://interhacktives.mymagic.page/why-your-driving-license-could-land-you-on-a-police-lineup/
- Published: 2024-01-01T22:08:14.000Z
- Updated: 2024-01-01T22:08:14.000Z
- Description: The government has quietly introduced a new law giving the National Crime Agency (NCA) access to the UK’s 50 million driving licenses.
- Author: rachelcoussins
- Tags: News, AI, driving, facial recognition, law, Metropolitan Police, Police, #Migrated-1793717950415, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-11-03 14:59

The government has quietly introduced [a new law](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-justice-bill-2023-factsheets/criminal-justice-bill-police-powers?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page#:~:text=DVLA%20driver%20licence%20records%20will,inquiry%20when%20investigating%20an%20offence.) giving the National Crime Agency (NCA) access to the UK’s 50 million driving licenses. The reason for this is to aid “a wider range of policing or law enforcement purposes.” The proposed law has not yet clearly defined these purposes. As a result people have stated [concerns](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/21/driving-licences-are-the-states-next-weapon-to-rob-privacy/?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page) over the unregulated potential of what this could mean.

The development of facial recognition has revolutionised many areas of our lives from giving us the ability to [protect our smartphone passwords](https://interhacktives.mymagic.page/the-mobile-journalists-guide-to-iphone-12/), to helping the police to [locate missing people](https://interhacktives.mymagic.page/inside-israels-war-rooms-tracking-missing-victims/).

Although it undoubtedly has its benefits, there is a growing level of worry around facial recognition technology. This is largely down to its threat to privacy and the [technology’s shortcomings](https://interhacktives.mymagic.page/code-mesh-tech-conference-everything-you-need-to-know/) in relation to correctly identifying people of colour.

[![a photo of the corner of a UK driving license](https://www.interhacktives.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pexels-dom-j-45113-1-1.jpg)](https://www.interhacktives.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pexels-dom-j-45113-1-1-scaled.jpg?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page)

*Your driving license could soon land you on* *a UK-wide police line-up*

If the force wanted to identify somebody from CCTV footage, this law would allow them to run that image against a database of 74% of the UK’s population. This is a worrying step towards dependency on technology that has [shown to have possible bias](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/24/facial-recognition-uk-drivers-licence-police-lineup?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page#:~:text=The%20technology%20is%20known,rate%20of%20only%2019.05%25.) against marginalised groups. It also feels as though UK citizens are having their right to privacy further stripped from them in the name of developing technology.

Professor Peter Fussey has previously [independently reviewed](https://www.essex.ac.uk/research/showcase/report-on-the-police-use-of-facial-recognition-technology-identifies-significant-concerns?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page) Metropolitan Police’s facial recognition technology. He told [told the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/20/police-to-be-able-to-run-face-recognition-searches-on-50m-driving-licence-holders?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page#:~:text=That%20police%20find%20such%20technologies%20useful%20or%20convenient%20is%20not%20sufficient%20justification%20to%20override%20the%20legal%20human%20rights%20protections%20they%20are%20also%20obliged%20to%20uphold.%E2%80%9D): “That police find such technologies useful or convenient is not sufficient justification to override the legal human rights protections they are also obliged to uphold.”

Fussey also spoke about the government's general lack of acknowledgement over studies showing that the technology is susceptible to false identification of black and Asian faces.

Asress Adimi Gikay, a senior AI lecturer, wrote in a [Guardian ](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/24/facial-recognition-uk-drivers-licence-police-lineup?ref=interhacktives.mymagic.page)article about how ethical use of facial recognition could be instrumental in solving major crimes. However he noted that when it comes to minor crimes, "while some safeguards exist within UK law to tackle the disproportionate use of technology, there remain loopholes."

Government officials can only continue to utilise facial recognition technology ethically by addressing these loopholes and demanding tighter regulations. These regulations need to address the threats to basic human rights, such as the right to privacy or right to not be discriminated against.