Gwent police has come under heavy criticism from civil liberties campaigners after it revealed possible plans to use controversial face-scanning technology.

After the Force revealed that automatic facial recognition software could be used by officers in future, campaigners from human-rights group Liberty said the notion lacked legal oversight.

The software allows officers to scan faces which can then be matched on a national database, a practice campaigners have described as ‘Orwellian’ in nature, and a ‘violation of privacy’.

Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty, said, “There are no laws, no rules and no oversight for facial recognition technology – not to mention the serious concerns about its accuracy. It is a shady enterprise neither our MPs nor the public have consented to or know enough about.

“There are significant doubts as to whether deploying this technology in public spaces can ever be lawful – especially without proper Parliamentary debate.”

A police spokeswoman said the force was in talks with neighbouring South Wales Police on bringing the technology into use within the local area in future.

The rollout of body worn videos throughout Gwent Police commenced in September 2015 and training took place for all officers with sessions running until February 2016.

“All officers are trained on the legislation and equipment before being permitted to use the body worn videos.

“There have been numerous incidents where body worn videos have helped with investigations and court cases.”

South Wales Police employed Automated Facial Recognition (AFR) during this year’s UEFA Champions League football week held in Cardiff.