Facial Recognition Scheme

Reveal Media will be providing GO! Southampton with the cameras and infrastructure to carry out the trial. The scheme works by:

• Individuals who have been banned from the city centre via our Red Card/Exclusion Scheme or have previously committed an offence in the city will be uploaded to the server linked to the cameras. This is the same information that is currently on our DISC portal which GO! Southampton already have.
• Door staff/security in seven venues who are wearing the cameras will be alerted when one of the individuals attempts to enter a venue. The camera technology will recognise faces of the individuals.
• It will then be up to the door staff to refuse entry and speak with the venue as to next steps. They should then be able to communicate to all other venues via our radio scheme that the individual is present in the city – as they will be likely to attempt entry to other venues. The Police and GO! Southampton’s security team will also hear the alert via the radios
• The objective will be to prevent individuals from causing further offences/harm inside businesses or outside on the streets.

Live facial recognition uses a computer algorithm to produce a facial template, which is unique to each individual. When the body-worn camera identifies a face in its footage, it instantly produces a template which is then compared against an exclusion list containing a template of known individuals. These known individuals represent those who are not permitted to enter a licensed premise in Southampton due to their failure to adhere to the standards of behaviour expected.

Live facial recognition cameras will operate from 20:00 to 02:30 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights  For information on which venues are taking part in the trial please see the signage which will be clearly marked to the public and displayed in the area where the venues are located.

The body-worn camera and facial recognition software will still produce a template of your face. Within a few microseconds, this template is compared against the exclusion list stored on the video camera. If it does not detect a match, the template and all personal data is instantly deleted.

The camera will pick up all individuals within a 6m radius. There will be posters displayed in the area and door staff will be wearing lanyards who are taking part in the trial.

If you intend to enter one of the licensed premises trialling the facial recognition software, you are likely to have to pass the camera worn by the door supervisor as you enter. If you’re merely walking past the venue, we recommend staying out of the Zone of Recognition, which extends a maximum of 6m in front of the camera.

If you are on the exclusion list, your personal data remains on the camera while you are banned from the licensed premises. For further details, please refer to the privacy notice.

The exclusion list consists of banned individuals from the Licencing Link Scheme, also known as the Red Card Scheme or Pub Watch. This scheme follows a robust process before adding anyone to the banned list. Every banned individual receives a notice explaining the ban’s terms, how their data is being used, and grounds to appeal a ban. Only after this process is completed are the individual’s photo (and facial recognition template) sent to the body-worn cameras via the dedicated DEMS 360 software provided by Reveal Media.

Read more about the Red Card scheme here.

The Southampton Business Crime Partnership (SBCP) controls the exclusion list of banned individuals, making them the data controllers. The SBCP is run and managed by GO! Southampton, the Business Improvement District.

Reveal Media are the data processors as they provide the body-worn video system’s software and hardware.

We have conducted a thorough assessment regarding the legal grounds for using this technology. The trial operates using legitimate interests as the lawful basis under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. A comprehensive legitimate interest impact assessment supports this trial.

Key partners in this trial are Southampton BID, who oversee the Southampton Business Crime Partnership across the city; Synergy Security, who provide the door supervisors at licensed premises taking part in the trial; Reveal Media, who supply the body-worn cameras and associated software; and finally the DPO Centre, offering expert advice on data protection regulations and documentation.

Other partners include Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, Southampton City Council, BID member businesses and SWL Security.

The trial will run for three months during Winter 2023/2024 and will operate at seven venues within a defined area of the city centre.

Once the trial is over, GO! Southampton will evaluate the success of the scheme with partners and businesses which will then inform whether the scheme is implemented or not, and where.

Reveal Media is an established UK company supplying body-worn cameras to the police, retail partners, and healthcare professionals. They are currently the only supplier capable of incorporating live facial recognition technology within their cameras. Reveal Media hold ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 accreditation, as well as Cyber Essentials Plus certification. Find out more about Reveal here.

Reveal Media is providing the SBCP with the cameras, infrastructure and training free of charge. Apart form the printed collateral, there are no additional costs for the BID to implement the trial into the city.

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