Review calls for 'open and public debate' over use of data-driven tech by PSNI

The Policing Board also said there appears to be an "absence of significant consultation" by the PSNI, the Department of Justice and the Northern Ireland Office on issues where policing impacts upon people's right to privacy.

The board's Human Rights Review of Privacy and Policing also warned that the "absence of our democratic leaders watching the watchers may lead to a 'surveillance state' creeping up on us".

The newly published review, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, aims to highlight the importance of the right to privacy and its continued significance as policing and surveillance technologies become more and more sophisticated.

The report looks at the PSNI's use of surveillance equipment, listening devices, informants and surveillance of social media and the websites that people visit.

It also examines police databases and the collection, retention, sharing and access to data about a person, including fingerprints, DNA profiles and facial images.

It stated: "This report is also concerned with what appears to be an absence of significant consultation by the police, the Department of Justice, or the Northern Ireland Office on issues of privacy.

"The driver for new facial recognition systems, biometric data retention, CCTV and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) is the Home Office and the College of Policing, which are often adopted in Northern Ireland without any public consultation.

"Transparency in policing is difficult when techniques of targeted surveillance are concerned.

"Nevertheless, what techniques are actually used by PSNI in secret is often exaggerated and distorted.

"However, it is precisely these factors which continue to undermine confidence in PSNI, especially in some communities.

"A service which would wish the public to believe that it is solidly built on the basis of 'policing by consent' must continue to strive to become more transparent as these techniques have greater and greater impacts on privacy."

The main recommendation from the report is that there should be "open and public debate about data-driven technology in policing, including developments in and use of artificial intelligence and algorithms, biometrics, digital forensics, surveillance, and investigatory powers".