BSCC-FOI-1325-HD: use of facial recognition cameras in public spaces
Updated 10 September 2025
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Office of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
9 September 2025
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ biometrics-and-surveillance-camera-commissioner
To: [redacted]
Reference: BSCC-FOI-1325-HD
Letter by email
Dear [redacted],
I write in response to an email received by our office on Sunday 24th August 2025 in which you asked: “…please provide any/all documentation which preserves the presumption of innocence of members of the public in areas where Police Forces operate Facial Recognition Cameras in public spaces and that such members of the public retain the right to use face coverings to maintain privacy while in public, thus preserving rights under the Equalities Act.”
Your request has been handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
While the government has recently appointed an interim Biometrics Commissioner and is actively recruiting a permanent Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner through open competition, only the Surveillance Camera Commissioner is a relevant public authority under the Act. Therefore, this response has been provided by the Office, rather than the Biometrics Commissioner.
The Office of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (OBSCC) does not hold the information you have requested.
The Commissioner’s role is to provide independent oversight of the use of surveillance camera systems by relevant authorities (such as police forces and local authorities) in England and Wales, as set out in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This role is advisory in nature and does not include powers to enforce legislation, inspect systems, or produce statutory guidance on legal rights such as the presumption of innocence or the use of face coverings in public spaces under the Equalities Act.
As such, your request falls outside the scope of the Commissioner’s statutory remit, and we do not hold the information you have asked for.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months to the address below, quoting reference BSCC-FOI-1325-HD. If you ask for an internal review, it would be helpful if you could say why you are dissatisfied with the response.
[redacted]
5th Floor,
2 Ruskin Square
Broad Green
Croydon
CR0 2WF
e-mail: Sciencesupportfoi@homeoffice.gov.uk
As part of any internal review, our handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. If you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you would have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Kind regards
Office of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner
Email: enquiries@obscc.org.uk