Report Summary
This report provides members of the Policing Performance Committee with an overview of Police Scotland and SPA Joint Response to the Independent Advisory Group on New & Emerging Technologies in Policing.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Policing Performance Committee - 15 June 2023
Date : 15 June 2023
Location : online
Police Scotland's Improvements
The IAG’s report recognised a number of recent improvements made by Police Scotland in relation to how technology projects and initiatives are developed and embedded. In particular, the IAG found that Police Scotland has improved processes for considering and addressing ethical and legal implications when adopting new technologies.
The IAG welcomed the launch of Police Scotland’s recently developed ‘Data Ethics Framework’ which is being piloted to ensure that any 'data-driven technologies' are using data responsibly, and any associated data ethics risks are managed and scrutinised appropriately.
The IAG also highlighted that Police Scotland has continued to introduce Ethics Advisory Panels that enable staff, officers and external participants to come together and discuss potential ethical dilemmas (relating to technology and more broadly). The objectives of panels include: improving service delivery; supporting police officers, staff and leaders; developing and enhancing a visible ethics culture; and supporting organisational learning.
The IAG found that impact assessments, such as Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) and Equality and Human Rights Assessments (EQHRIA), are routinely used by Police Scotland to establish what impact technologies could have on people and communities. The learnings from these assessments are then used to take practical steps to minimise or reduce any adverse impact. Looking forward, it is suggested that Police Scotland consider undertaking Children's Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments (CRWIAs) alongside DPIAs and EQHRIAs to further embed a human rights based approach.
In terms of making future improvements to processes, the report notes that policing in Scotland:
should more effectively utilise previous ‘lessons learned’;
that there is a need for independent and transparent oversight mechanisms for understanding impacts of improvements; and,
When considering future technologies there is an emphasis on using practical risk-based assessments and rights based approaches to assess proportionality.
