CRISP is very proud to share the news that its director and co-founder Professor William Webster is the new Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner for the UK.  William officially began his role on the 1st November. He'll be responsible for promoting compliance with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, and overseeing the retention, use and destruction of DNA samples, DNA profiles and fingerprints by police forces in England and Wales. He'll initially be in the role for 2 years.

Amid all of the official  press releases, such as this one, from the University of Stirling (William's employer), fellow CRISPs would like to convey a more personal message at this auspicious time. William has been absolutely instrumental in making CRISP what it is today. He has led on and co-designed all of our activities: the doctoral school, the book series, the seminar series, our CPDP sessions, the annual lecture and Scottish Privacy Forum.    We have all  - CRISP directors and members, authors, doctoral school attendees and the wider public - benefitted from his insights and experience. He has been a massive cohesive force in CRISP and has ensured that the centre is present in the cross sectoral policy and practice landscape which constitutes our domain of study: the surveillance society. Thanks for everything, William! 

William will be succeeded by Dr Diana Miranda, who will step in as interim director at the University of Stirling.  As a long standing CRISP member, Diana is a criminologist and sociologist working on biometric and data driven technologies in criminal justice and security contexts.  

Good luck to both William and Diana in your new roles.