Police Scotland has proposed a three-month trial of video analytics software in Aberdeen to speed up searches of recorded CCTV footage. The BriefCam pilot would use object matching to help officers find relevant vehicles, clothing and other items, with facial recognition excluded.
The proposal is set out in a paper for the Scottish Police Authority’s Policing Performance Committee meeting on 3 September, published online on 15 September. It concerns the jointly operated public-space CCTV system at Marischal College.
BriefCam searches footage using information entered by an operator, then flags potential matches for human review. Police Scotland wants to assess whether it could reduce time spent manually reviewing footage and support investigations, missing-person enquiries and other public-safety work.
The report draws a distinction between recognising objects and identifying individuals. It states: “Unlike facial recognition, object recognition does not analyse or compare biometric facial features to establish who a person is and as such, it serves a different operational purpose whilst continuing to support public safety.”
Aberdeen City Council and Police Scotland jointly procured BriefCam in 2020. According to the paper, the council uses the software, while previous Police Scotland use has been paused to allow governance work and a review.
The proposed proof of concept would measure investigative speed, case progression and evidence quality, alongside costs, productivity and the experience of staff using the system. It would also examine missed objects, the effects of poor lighting and weather, and classification errors involving characteristics such as gender and object colour.
A public consultation between March and May 2024 received responses from 1,228 members of the public and 141 current or former Police Scotland employees. The report describes mixed views, with most respondents agreeing that clear policies and procedures should govern use of the technology.
The paper says the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner has no current concerns about the proposed object-recognition use. Any future extension to identification of individuals would require further consideration.
A decision on making BriefCam available across Police Scotland would follow evaluation of the pilot. The paper describes a proposal and does not confirm that the trial has started.
