{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0560","record_version":1,"title":"Shoppers falsely identified by Facewatch facial recognition in UK stores","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":47.0,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":7.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":3.0,"completeness":3.52,"unhedged_language":5.0},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: The Guardian · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":1,"reports_independent":1,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":false,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"1 report: The Guardian · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"b8c9fccd2cd40cbfdd370ae84593ce7f14a992dee20571b91faa3a5cffca61bc"},"system":{"model_name":null,"model_version":null,"developer":"Facewatch","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"unknown","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"production","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":null,"integration_type":null,"intended_use":null,"safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-05-03","incident_class":"operational_error","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":null,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"Facewatch, a live facial recognition system used by UK shops including B&M, Home Bargains, Sports Direct, Farm Foods and Spar, sends alerts about people it associates with known offenders so that staff can act in store. Several shoppers were wrongly identified and asked to leave or escorted out, including Ian Clayton at Home Bargains, Warren Rajah at Sainsbury’s and Jennie Sanders at B&M. Facewatch and Sainsbury’s attributed the errors to human error in store processes rather than the technology. Affected people said they received no support, could not easily complain, and had to submit subject access requests or passports to learn why they were flagged. Some received apologies or vouchers, and Sanders said the ICO had not responded after seven months. The ICO said it would publish further retail guidance.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":"deployer","adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"major","severity_because":"Major test: a stated count of two or more affected parties (three errors, per Facewatch), and the ICO, a regulator, was involved after a complaint.","harm_class":[],"affected_description":null,"protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/03/guilty-until-proven-innocent-shoppers-falsely-identified-by-facial-recognition-struggle-to-clear-their-name","publisher":"The Guardian","date":"2026-05-03","type":"press","title":"Guilty until proven innocent: shoppers falsely identified by facial recognition system struggle to clear their names - The Guardian","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report","independence":"independent"}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.developer":"C","system.deployment_context":"C","context.country":"C","context.industry":"C","event.responsible_party":"C","event.incident_class":"D","impact.severity":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.summary":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","event.date_disclosed":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.developer":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"He is one of a number of people who have spoken to the Guardian after being falsely identified as a thief by shops using Facewatch, a live facial recognition system being rolled out across the UK to clamp down on retail crime."}],"system.deployment_context":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"He is one of a number of people who have spoken to the Guardian after being falsely identified as a thief by shops using Facewatch, a live facial recognition system being rolled out across the UK to clamp down on retail crime."}],"context.country":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"He is one of a number of people who have spoken to the Guardian after being falsely identified as a thief by shops using Facewatch, a live facial recognition system being rolled out across the UK to clamp down on retail crime."}],"context.industry":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"He is one of a number of people who have spoken to the Guardian after being falsely identified as a thief by shops using Facewatch, a live facial recognition system being rolled out across the UK to clamp down on retail crime."}],"event.responsible_party":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"This was not an issue with the facial recognition technology in use but a case of the wrong person being approached in store."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"These cases relate to human error in the way processes were carried out in-store, rather than any failure of Facewatch’s technology."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"These three errors are extremely rare cases when viewed in the context of the more than 500,000 alerts we send to retailers each year, but we recognise that any mistake is upsetting for the individual concerned."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"These three errors are extremely rare cases when viewed in the context of the more than 500,000 alerts we send to retailers each year, but we recognise that any mistake is upsetting for the individual concerned."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"He is one of a number of people who have spoken to the Guardian after being falsely identified as a thief by shops using Facewatch, a live facial recognition system being rolled out across the UK to clamp down on retail crime."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"But those who have been wrongly identified and forced to leave shops, either via the technology itself or human error, say they were given no support, and did not know how to complain about their treatment or prove their innocence."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"These cases relate to human error in the way processes were carried out in-store, rather than any failure of Facewatch’s technology."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"Sanders said she complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the formal watchdog monitoring how personal information is being used in facial recognition technology, but seven months later she had yet to hear back."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"This was not an issue with the facial recognition technology in use but a case of the wrong person being approached in store."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"The sources do not give the year of the Clayton or Rajah visits (only February), the exact date of the Sanders incident (only last year), or the date the incident occurred. The disclosed date is taken from the article date in the source header, and the sentence quoted for it is the article's opening sentence. No model name, version, harness, tools, autonomy level or agent involvement is stated, so agent fields and failure classes are left out. The 'three errors' count is Facewatch's own figure and may not match the number of affected people the Guardian reports. Facewatch's and Sainsbury's accounts that the errors were human error are their claims and were not independently verified. Home Bargains and B&M declined to comment. Severity 'major' is my judgement from the stated count of three affected cases and the ICO complaint. The impact.harm_class choices (privacy, reputational) are my judgement from the quoted complaints. No duration, money loss or records count is stated. Sainsbury’s and Facewatch both say accuracy is 99.98%, which is a company claim, not a verified figure. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Preliminary (1 report: The Guardian · subject to change)]"},"context":{"industry":"Retail","org_size_band":null,"country":"GB","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"caught","text":"Errors surfaced only after the affected shoppers pressed for answers, through emails or subject access requests.","quote":"After countless emails, he eventually found out he was not on the Facewatch database system and staff members had misidentified him.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/03/guilty-until-proven-innocent-shoppers-falsely-identified-by-facial-recognition-struggle-to-clear-their-name"]},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"Staff told Clayton he had come up on the Facewatch system as a shoplifter.","quote":"“You’ve come up on our system called Facewatch as a shoplifter,” came the reply.","source_index":0,"when":null},{"text":"Clayton's subject access request revealed he had been wrongly associated with a shoplifting incident on a previous visit.","quote":"He was only able to get answers after submitting a subject access request – a formal request under data protection laws for personal information – that revealed he had been incorrectly associated with a shoplifting incident on a previous visit to the shop.","source_index":0,"when":null},{"text":"Sainsbury’s said it provided additional training after the incident.","quote":"The Facewatch system has a 99.98% accuracy rate and all matches are reviewed by trained managers, with additional training provided after this incident to ensure our safeguards are consistently followed.","source_index":0,"when":null}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/03/guilty-until-proven-innocent-shoppers-falsely-identified-by-facial-recognition-struggle-to-clear-their-name"]}}