Sweden plans to integrate facial recognition technology in police

Sweden is set to allow its police force to use facial recognition technology (FRT). This decision, recently approved by the country’s data protection authority, aims to aid in the identification of criminal suspects through advanced biometric screening.

After the adoption of the EU rules which ban real-time facial recognition in public spaces but allows some exceptions for law enforcement, the Swedish government ordered an inquiry into expanded powers for law enforcement to use camera surveillance, including the use of facial recognition technology. The EU exceptions include searching for missing people or specific suspected victims of human trafficking, or preventing imminent threats such as a terrorist attack. It also allows the technology for locating individuals suspected of committing certain criminal offenses.

The Swedish police plan to integrate facial recognition into their daily operations by leveraging a database containing over 40,000 facial images of individuals who have been detained or arrested. This technology enables law enforcement to quickly compare these images with footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV), streamlining the process of identifying suspects and potentially speeding up investigations​.

Why does it matter?

The deployment of FRT by Swedish police is governed by stringent regulations to ensure compliance with both national and EU data protection laws, aligning with Sweden’s Crime Data Act and the EU’s Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive (GDPR). This compliance is crucial to addressing concerns about privacy and civil liberties, which are often raised in discussions about surveillance technologies​. The adoption of FRT in Sweden comes as part of a broader trend within Europe, where several countries are exploring or have already implemented similar technologies. For example, Dutch police utilize a substantial biometric database to aid in their law enforcement efforts.