Summary Offences (Biometric Identification) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (18:30): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Under existing laws, police have limited powers to request that an individual identify himself or herself. Police also have limited powers in respect to the taking of a person’s fingerprints.

In the lead up to the 2014 State election, the Government announced that it would be introducing laws to expand the powers for police to more effectively use mobile fingerprint scanners (also known as portable biometric fingerprint scanners) to fight crime.

The mobile fingerprint scanners, currently being used by police, are able to scan and capture biometric data (an electronic picture of a fingerprint), electronically access the relevant database known as the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (‘NAFIS’) and receive a response to enable rapid identification.

South Australia Police (‘SAPOL’) has advised that scanned biometric data is electronically transferred from the device to a SAPOL server, which sends the data and an instruction to the NAFIS database to search its records to determine if there is a matching fingerprint on file. The outcome of the search is referred to as a ‘Hit’ / ’No Hit’ result. If a matching fingerprint is found in the NAFIS database, the person’s identity and criminal history are returned and appear on the screen of the mobile device. Conversely, if the fingerprint is not matched in the NAFIS database, there will be no other information returned other than ‘No Hit’. The use of the mobile fingerprint scanners will have no additional contribution to records held on the NAFIS database.

SAPOL also advised that captured biometric data through the fingerprint scan is compared to fingerprints of people with a known identity on the NAFIS database.

The Bill amends current section 74A(1) of the Summary Offences Act 1953 (‘the Act’) to allow a police officer to require a person to submit to a biometric identification procedure, which is in addition to the current power to require a person to state all or any of the person’s personal details. A police officer may use either measure or both. The existing pre-conditions in section 74A(1) of the Act will apply for both.

Those pre-conditions are that a police officer has reasonable cause to suspect:

that a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit, an offence; or

that a person may be able to assist in the investigation of an offence or a suspected offence.

The Bill defines biometric identification procedure as:

‘a procedure in which biometric data relating to a person is obtained by means of photograph or scan and compared with other biometric data for the purposes of identifying the person.’

The Bill defines biometric data as:

‘fingerprint data or any other prescribed data or data of a prescribed kind that describes physical characteristics of a person or part of a person that may be used to identify the person.’

The definition of biometric data will enable other forms of biometric identification procedures to be used in the future by prescribing other types of data by regulation. Any expansion will be assessed on a case by case basis as the technology develops.

The same maximum penalty will apply for failure or refusal to submit to a biometric identification procedure as that in current section 74A(3) of the Act.

Current section 74A(4) of the Act has also been amended to include the situation where a person is required to submit to a biometric identification procedure. Under this amendment, a police officer who has required a person to submit to a biometric identification procedure is required to comply with a request to identify himself or herself, in accordance with that section.

The Bill also includes a new section 74A(4a) which is an offence aimed at deterring inappropriate retention and storage of biometric data. The new section expressly provides that a person must not retain or store biometric data derived from a biometric identification procedure under new section 74A for longer than is reasonably required for the purposes of carrying out the biometric identification procedure. The maximum penalty is consistent with the maximum penalty for unauthorised storage of a DNA profile under the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Act 2007.

The wider use of mobile fingerprint scanners by police is expected to improve identification rates, reduce the incidence of people avoiding being identified and allow for identification while police officers remain in the field.

The biometric identification procedure proposed in this Bill is intended to be a separate and distinct procedure to assist with on the spot identification of a person to aid police officers in their duties whilst remaining in the field.

I commend the Bill to Members.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Summary Offences Act 1953

4—Amendment of section 74A—Power to require personal details and other identification information

This clause proposes to amend section 74A of the Summary Offences Act 1953 so that a police officer may require a person to submit to a biometric identification procedure if the officer has reasonable cause to suspect that a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit, an offence or that the person may be able to assist in the investigation of an offence or a suspected offence. This is in addition to the requirement to state all or any of the person's personal details which is currently provided for under section 74A(1).

A biometric identification procedure is defined as a procedure in which biometric data relating to a person is obtained by means of photograph or scan and compared with other biometric data for the purposes of identifying the person. Biometric data is defined as fingerprint data or any other prescribed data or data of a prescribed kind that describes physical characteristics of a person or part of a person that may be used to identify the person.

The clause provides that a person must not retain or store biometric data derived from a biometric identification procedure for longer than is reasonably required for the purposes of carrying out the biometric identification procedure.

Debated adjourned on motion of Hon. J.M.A. Lensink.

At 18:31 the council adjourned until Tuesday 13 October 2015 at 14:15.