Residents of Hastings and across East Sussex could soon be subject to measures that have been condemned as serious erosions of civil liberties.

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has announced two ‘Live Facial Recognition’ camera vans to be deployed across the county to scan in real-time the faces of individuals allegedly wanted for serious offences.

Meanwhile, Ms Bourne is spearheading a pilot scheme to electronically tag ‘persistent offenders’. The move follows her request for such tagging surveillance to be routine: “I have become impatient waiting for Government to make a decision, so I have, instead, decided to pioneer this project with Sussex Police myself,” she said.

Electronic monitoring of persistent offenders is intensely controversial, with some arguing it raises significant civil liberties concerns, including potential violations of privacy, freedom of movement and the right to a fair trial. 

Of live facial recognition, the civil rights group Liberty said “It has been used at the football, the rugby and Formula 1, at music festivals, and even at the seaside. It’s been used as a tool of intimidation at protests.” 

In a recent court case, the judge said live facial recognition violated privacy rights and broke data protection and equality laws.

Read more on this story in issue 284 of The Hastings Independent out on August 28.

What do you think about this? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Katy Bourne, the current Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Sussex has been selected as the Conservative Mayoral candidate for Sussex. She is the first candidate officially selected to run in the inaugural Sussex-wide mayoral election after defeating former Hastings and Rye MP, Sally-Ann Hart, the former MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, Tim Loughton, and the current leader of West Sussex County Council, Paul Marshall.

The Government’s devolution initiative will soon see the creation of a powerful new strategic combined authority, led by an elected mayor, which will gain significant control over key areas such as transport, housing, education, healthcare, local economic development, and environmental sustainability.

Although not yet confirmed, the current roles and functions of the PCC are likely to be swallowed up by the mayor’s office as part of the devolution plans.