Biometric identity systems in law enforcement and the politics of (voice) recognition: The case of SiiP

Abstract

Biometric identity systems are now a prominent feature of contemporary law enforcement, including in Europe. Often advanced on the premise of efficiency and accuracy, they have also been the subject of significant controversy. Much attention has focussed on longer-standing biometric data collection, such as finger-printing and facial recognition, foregrounding concerns with the impact such technologies can have on the nature of policing and fundamental human rights. Less researched is the growing use of voice recognition in law enforcement. This paper examines the case of the recent Speaker Identification Integrated Project, a European wide initiative to create the first international and interoperable database of voice biometrics, now the third largest biometric database at Interpol. Drawing on Freedom of Information requests, interviews and public documentation, we outline the emergence and features of SiiP and explore how voice is recognised and attributed meaning. We understand Speaker Identification Integrated Project as constituting a particular ‘regime of recognition’ premised on the use of soft biometrics (age, language, accent and gender) to disembed voice in order to optimise for difference. This, in turn, has implications for the nature and scope of law enforcement, people's position in society, and justice concerns more broadly.

Doing Digital Migration Studies:

“…The interest has also been shared by migration offices and state agencies in general. This is evidenced by the development of the Speaker Identification Integrated Project (SiiP), the first international and interoperable database of voice biometrics to support law enforcement investigations into transnational threats, terrorism and organized crime (Jansen et al, 2021); the use of speaker recognition technology by the US National Security Agency (NSA) for counter-terrorism operations (Kang, 2022); the implementation of voice biometrics in the German border system; but also by the more recent programme started in Turkey in 2019, called Capacity Building for Effective Nationality Determination (Bellanova & Fuster, 2019). Due to a commitment to the EU, Turkey also enlisted automated language tests to detect a person's country of origin among its strategies aimed to slow down the inflow of migrants and refugees.…”