Biometrics Commissioner: annual report 2019
The annual report of the Biometrics Commissioner for 2019.
Documents
Details
The 2019 report of the Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material (Biometrics Commissioner) was submitted to the Home Secretary on 19 March 2020 and published on 02 July 2020.
You can read the government’s response to the Biometrics Commissioner’s annual report 2019.
We have also published a statement to accompany the report.
The role of the Biometrics Commissioner was established by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) and Paul Wiles has occupied the role for 4 years. His role is to provide independent oversight of the regime which was established by PoFA, and which came into force on 31 October 2013, to govern the retention and use by the police in England and Wales of DNA samples, DNA profiles and fingerprints.
In addition to various casework responsibilities in relation to DNA and fingerprints, he also has a UK-wide oversight function as regards their retention and use by the police on national security grounds.
This 2019 report deals primarily with developments since the publication of the 2018 report and emerging themes. It covers his casework activities, the general operation of the PoFA regime and a variety of issues that have arisen in connection with its operation in both the normal policing and national security spheres. The use of new biometrics used by the police and considerations around these feature within the report.
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