CRISP Directors Professor Pete Fussey and Professor William Webster have been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner.

The office of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner was created following the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Act 2020.  The Commissioner is independent of Scottish Government and is appointed by His Majesty the King on the nomination of the Scottish Parliament.  The Commissioner’s general function is to support and promote the adoption of lawful, effective and ethical practices in relation to the acquisition, retention, use and destruction of biometric data for criminal justice and police purposes by Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.  The 2020 Act provides that the Commissioner must establish and maintain an Advisory Group. The purpose of the group is to give advice and information to the Commissioner about matters relating to the Commissioner’s functions.  Professor Webster’s appointment reflects his expertise relating to face recognition and its increasing prevalence in surveillance camera systems.

More information about the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner can be found here.

More information about the Advisory Board can be found here.