The South African Police Service wants body cameras that can recognise faces and connect to security platforms. On 10 September the State IT Agency published a tender for a three-year contract covering body-worn cameras, dashboard cameras and the software that manages them, TechCabal reports.
The country's Information Regulator has pushed back. It told local publication TechCentral that some of the processes involved may violate the Protection of Personal Information Act, known as POPIA, according to TechCabal.
Why faces are different
POPIA classifies biometric information as special personal information. Section 26 generally prohibits processing it unless one of the exceptions in Section 27 applies, such as consent or certain legal obligations.
An ordinary bodycam records an encounter. One with facial recognition can identify the people it records. The tender does not spell out what the feature would do when an officer points a camera at someone, TechCabal notes.
Not the police's first try
SAPS has been rolling out body-worn cameras, including a 2024/25 plan to distribute 100 body-worn and dashboard cameras, and introduced facial-recognition cameras in 2017. What is new is putting the capability on cameras worn by officers as they move among the public. SAPS says its technology push is about officer safety, accountability and better evidence.
