Improving police identity verification is vital in the age of cyber crime

Cyber crime is on the rise

Data security is a growing concern for organisations of all kinds. In September 2023, a white paper from the National Cyber Security Centre showed not only that the threat is increasing, but also that the tools to commit cyber crime were readily available.

In one recent data breach, hackers stole identifiable information on thousands of police officers. There’s no public evidence of its sale, but it will only fuel an issue that’s been building in recent years: that citizens want to check they’re dealing with a genuine officer.

Suspicion around police ID is growing

Even before the recent data breach hit the headlines, the public was wary about officer identity. They know that criminals will often impersonate authority figures and that fraud is on the rise; data from the ONS shows that the number of offences increased by 25% between 2020 and 2022.

Just a few years ago, displaying a police warrant card was enough to reassure most people. Now, with the potential for fraudsters to create fake IDs, citizens want certainty. Most Forces have been implementing processes to enable identity verification, but they can be time-consuming and inefficient for the citizen, officers and civilian staff.

Draining control room resources

Forces are using different processes to help verify IDs. These include sharing sample warrant cards or suggesting calls to 101 or even 999. Other approaches include using video call apps, such as FaceTime or Microsoft Teams, or getting officers to radio through to control rooms to have their name, collar number and duty status confirmed remotely, with the operator creating a manual incident log.

With police services already under pressure, these checks are taking up officer time in the field and adding to the admin burden back at the station. Creating a digital warrant card that could be verified automatically would help to reassure citizens, free up police time and keep a secure audit trail.

A digital warrant card could hold the key

Technologies that store identity credentials in a secure digital wallet already exist. Working to the latest international standards, they generate IDs that can be verified at the point of use. The concept of digital ID is also familiar to many citizens, and includes government-approved apps that prove the user’s age for certain purchases.

When we considered a possible solution for policing, we started with three principles in mind:

• To keep citizens in control by enabling them to check IDs from their own devices
• To make it simple, quick and familiar for all users
• To keep a secure audit trail automatically

How Identity Verification works

With our Identity Verification solution, an officer generates a link with a PIN and shares it with a citizen via a QR code. This can be done without close contact, for example through a window. The citizen then enters the PIN on the force’s own web page, receiving immediate confirmation if the ID is valid and advice on what to do if it’s not.

From a solution, forces can set their own local policies for card issuance, suspension and revocation. Each time a QR code is generated, the time and location get logged automatically to maintain a full audit trail. The solution uses credentials technology from Intercede, a specialist provider that has helped governments worldwide and large organisations to embed secure digital identities for more than 20 years.

By making use of the latest technology and integrating with national ID management systems, Identity Verification provides additional reassurance without adding to the admin.

Find out more about Identity Verification from our video below.