Custody Image Database

 

I note you seek access to the following information:

 

• The number of individuals’ images held in your forces’ custody image database

o NB – if the number of individuals cannot be ascertained, please provide the number of images in the database. 

• The number new individuals’ images [or images, if the number of individuals cannot be ascertained] uploaded to your forces’ custody image database in 2022

• The number of requests for the deletion of images in your custody image database received by your force in 2020, 2021 and 2022 [provided separately please]

• The number of these requests that were agreed to by your force, in each of those years.

• A copy of any leaflet or information provided to arrestees by your force “explaining their rights to have their custody image deleted under certain circumstances”, and any document/guidance given to officers on when to make this information available to arrestees.

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full. 

 

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

 

 

There are currently 3.6 million individual images on the system.

 

 

The number of images uploaded in 2022 is 831,301.  Please note, this does not equate to the number of individuals – an individual can have several different images uploaded.

 

	Custody deletion requests	Requests agreed for deletion
2020	591	372
2021	513	279
2022	517	101

 

Some decisions are still yet to be made on the retention/deletion of applications, so these deletion stats are subject to change.

 

Please also note, the figures relate to the number of requests for images destroyed, not the number of individuals who have had images destroyed.  There is likely to be more than one image per individual if they request for more than one offence.

 

 

The police power to take photographs comes from the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and is featured under Code D.

 

Custody Sergeants verbally inform detainees of their rights and entitlements regarding the taking of DNA, fingerprints and photos as part of the booking in procedure, in accordance with this PACE Code.  No written documentation is provided, although detainees have the right to access a full copy of The Codes of Practice (including Code D) when detained in custody.  

 

In relation to providing a document or leaflet, there is no direction from the College of Policing, HMIC or IOPC where the Police have to provide a leaflet explaining the rights to have the custody image deleted under certain circumstances. 

The onus is on the individual contacting the Police. 

 

This position is also confirmed on the Government website (Arrested your rights/giving fingerprints photographs and samples) which states “You have to write to your local police (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or local police (Scotland) to have your personal information removed from the police database.”

 

There was a review by the Home Office in February 2017 Review of the Use and Retention of Custody Images which gives individuals “the facility (if they have not been convicted of the offence(s) in relation to which the custody image was taken (whether or not it is recordable) to apply to chief officers of police forces to have their custody image deleted.”

 

The guidance at 2.2 of this Review states that chief officers should be required to consider the deletion of a custody image, following an application in writing for its destruction by the individual (or, where the individual is incapable of applying themselves, an application made on their behalf), provided that the individual has not been convicted of the offence(s) in relation to which the custody image was taken.  It goes on at 2.3 to state:

 

“Any such application would only be considered after investigations in relation to the offence(s) in relation to which the image was taken have concluded and no charges have been brought, or charges have been brought but the Crown Prosecution Service (‘CPS’) decided not to prosecute, or the individual was prosecuted but acquitted (and no appeal is pending), or after a successful appeal. Where an application is made by an individual who is subject to another active investigation(s), for which a separate image(s) exists, then this policy is not intended to prevent the retention of that image (unless and until the other investigation or proceedings come to an end and a separate application is made in relation to that image).”

 

The following internal guidance is taken from our intranet pages, which corroborates the above:

 

If an individual wishes to request the deletion of their custody image along with fingerprints/DNA then this can be done on the same application form through ACRO. If ACRO receive a request which includes a custody image deletion request they will forward this onto the owing force. Within the MPS, it will be forwarded on to the Early Deletion Unit who will deal.

 

There will be circumstances in which an individual wishes to have their custody image deleted, but we do not hold their fingerprints/DNA. If an individual wishes to request the deletion of ONLY their photo then they will need to contact the force that took the photo, opposed to going through ACRO. In the MPS such requests are dealt with directly by the Early Deletion Unit.

 

Once a request to delete a custody photo is submitted, either through ACRO as part of a larger deletion request or directly to the MPS Early Deletion Unit, it is reviewed and is signed off on behalf of the Commissioner once a decision is made. If the record is marked for deletion it will be deleted off the Met’s CIS system. If a copy of the custody photo had been uploaded to the PND then this image will also be marked for deletion.”