§ Mr. Tony Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department has made in experimentation into cornputerised facial recognition systems.
§ Mr. HurdThe scientific research and development branch of the Department has experimented with the use of modern technology to produce a facial likeness from witness descriptions, and to classify and retrieve photographic images. Current work involves the use of computers for retrieving photographic images from large databases. A number of technical hurdles remain to be overcome before an economic and operationally viable system is developed.