UK To Track Migrants With Criminal Records Using Facial Recognition Smartwatches

Smartwatches don’t only track the number of steps you’ve walked and give you updates on your messages; they now also track previously convicted migrant workers. 

Under a scheme by the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, migrants who have committed crimes must scan their faces five times a day using special smartwatches with facial recognition capabilities. According to documents seen by The Guardian, these migrants are to check in with authorities as necessitated by immigration control. 

The smartwatches were provided under a contract with tech firm Buddi Limited. The agreement between the tech company and the government allowed for non-fitted devices to be provided for the Home Office Satelite Tracking program.   

Information such as names, dates of birth, nationality, and photographs will all be stored on the watch and kept in databases for up to six years. Location tracking will also be used to monitor these individuals.   

These watches will be given only to foreigners who have committed an criminal offense and not to asylum-seekers.

Still, the morality of the plan is very much up for debate. According to The Guardian, risk assessments on an individual’s well-being from wearing such devices were left out of the provided documents.   

In the same report, Lucie Audibert, a lawyer for Privacy International, has spoken out against the issue, citing racial biases as a high probability when using facial recognition. Audibert also noted that no other country in Europe has enforced such measures to keep track of convicted migrants. 

At the University of London, Birkbeck, professor of criminology Dr Monish Bhatia stated that such protocols could lead to a litany of mental issues developed by the wearer. 

The new rule is set to roll out in autumn of this year.   

[via The Guardian and Mashable, cover image via Charnchai saeheng/Adobe Stock]