Public Attitudes to Facial Recognition Technology in Policing Survey

The Policing Research team within Home Office Analysis and Insight supports ministers in manging policing policy and resources through delivery of evidence-based advice. Further detail can be accessed here: Home Office - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

OVERVIEW OF REQUIREMENT

The Home Office is conducting an evaluation to explore the impact of the police use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) in England and Wales. One of the impacts in this sense is being considered as: - Impact at the interface between the police and the public that they serve (i.e., in public trust and confidence in policing)

To explore this impact, the HO plans to commission research to understand public views and attitudes towards the police use of FRT, which will feed into the wider evaluation. While police forces use FRT, it is expected that public understanding of the police use isn't entirely aligned. To draw out any potentially causative impact on public opinion, it is essential to grasp what public understanding is, as well as develop a clear sense of how public opinion is related to the use and outcomes of FRT use in policing, and finally how public opinion has/is shifting. On top of this, it is likely that not all communities will feel the impact of FRT in policing in the same way. As such, it will be valuable to explore where public opinion deviates and, if possible, explore the drivers behind differing impacts on public trust and confidence from police use of FRT.

The Home Office seeks to appoint a Supplier to deliver a national (England and Wales) survey and supplementary qualitative research to explore the issues above.

The Home Office requires research to be conducted on public perceptions of FRT in policing, including knowledge and opinions on the technology, privacy concerns, wider attitudes towards policing and crime, understanding and feelings towards different context and use of FRT, and thoughts/opinions on FRT accuracy and outcomes. The contracted research is expected to be completed by the end of March 2025. The national survey will be able to provide insight into the impact of FRT use in policing on public perceptions, provide clarity on how the public understand FRT use, and suggest how using FRT in policing is impacting public opinions of the police more generally. It is likely to also show that public opinions are not the same across all sections of society. Where these differences and deviations sit will not be known until the survey has been completed and analysed. The Home Office requires the Supplier to undertake focused qualitative engagement following the completion of the survey with any groups identified in the survey found to significantly deviate from the average position. This will provide an opportunity to dig deeper into public attitudes. The Home Office expects such work to take the form of focus groups but welcomes plans for interviews if deemed appropriate once the groups of interest are identified through the survey findings.