Facial recognition cameras are set to be rolled out in seven parts of the country. Policing minister, Sarah Jones, said the Government plans to issue guidance on the technology’s wider use in catching criminals.
Seven police forces have been pledged funding to deploy the cameras, which scan crowds and compare faces against a watchlist of wanted people. The forces are: Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Greater Manchester, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Yorkshire.
London’s Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police already use live facial recognition (LFR), which is usually seen mounted on police vans.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said earlier this month that LFR is a “game-changing tool”. He said the tech has led to over 700 arrests this year, including of 50 registered sex offenders in breach of their conditions.
Civil liberties groups have described the tech as a mass surveillance tool which in certain settings can be “less accurate” with women and people of colour.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) urged Scotland Yard in August to make sure its use of LFR complies with human rights law.
It claimed the Met’s use of LFR was incompatible with rights to privacy and freedom of expression.
Use of LFR by the police in the UK is currently not subject to legislation. A Court of Appeal ruling in a 2020 case found South Wales Police’s use of the technology was unlawful as it breached privacy rights and the Equality Act 2010. Despite the ruling, LFR has been deployed more often since 2020.
Policing minister, Ms Jones, is reported to have told a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool that LFR has worked in Croydon, south London.
The Telegraph reported the minister as adding: “We just need to make sure it’s clear what the technology is going to be useful for going forward…
“Live facial recognition is a really good tool that has led to arrests that wouldn’t have come otherwise and it’s very, very valuable.”
A Met Police spokesman said the force is committed to making London safer, using data and technology to locate offenders that pose the greatest risk to communities.
He added: “We have strong safeguards in place when operating LFR – for example, if a member of the public walks past an LFR camera and is not wanted by the police, their biometrics are immediately and permanently deleted.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp welcomed the rollout, telling the Telegraph he hoped the Government would not create “excessive restrictions” that would undermine the technology.
