Facial recognition vans to be deployed across Britain to help police target serious criminals

Facial recognition is set to be deployed across the country to help police target murderers, rapists and violent criminals.

The Home Office has announced 10 new Live Facial Recognition (LFR) vans will be distributed across seven forces, allowing officers to use cutting-edge technology to target and locate wanted criminals and suspects for the most serious crimes. Police forces including the Metropolitan Police and South Wales have already seen success with their own live facial recognition deployments, and it will now be used more widely across the UK.

The Met reported that in 12 months they made 580 arrests using LFR for offences including rape, domestic abuse, knife crime, GBH and robbery, including 52 registered sex offenders arrested for breaching their conditions. It has also been used to maintain safety at big public events. The ten new units will be deployed to forces in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Sussex (jointly), and Thames Valley and Hampshire (jointly). It comes after The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire wrote: 'Labour must find engaging story for the UK - or face election wipeout'.

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Every van is manned by trained officers who check every match made by the technology, with the algorithm being used in the vans independently tested and only operated in specific circumstances and with robust oversight. The facial recognition algorithm used in the new vans has been independently tested for bias by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The testing found that the algorithm is accurate and there is no bias for ethnicity, age or gender at the settings used by the police.

Existing safeguards require checks only to be done against police watchlists of wanted criminals, suspects and those subject to bail or court order conditions like sex offenders. Watchlists are bespoke to every deployment, with officers following strict guidance from the College of Policing guidance when composing a list.

The announcement came alongside confirmation that every neighbourhood across England and Wales now has named, contactable officers in place to tackle issues blighting their communities. As part of the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to put 13,000 more officers into communities by 2029, the public will have consistent direct links to their local force, with dedicated anti-social behaviour leads and new visible patrols in town centres.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Neighbourhood policing has been decimated over the last 15 years, but through our Plan for Change we are turning the corner, starting with town and city centres. Within the next year, we will have 3,000 new neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in place, which is a big shift. We also want them to have more powers to tackle off-road bikes, shop theft, street theft and other crimes that have blighted some of our town and city centres, so everyone can feel safe in their own town.

“And we will provide police with the tools they need to do their jobs. Facial recognition will be used in a targeted way to identify sex offenders or people wanted for the most serious crimes who the police have not been able to find. That's why we're funding 10 vans and also drawing up a new legal framework, so we've got proper safeguards and checks in place so that we can use the technology to go after the most dangerous criminals.”

Alongside the roll out of the 10 vans, the government will simultaneously consult on how the technology should be used and what safeguards and oversight are needed. Lindsey Chiswick, NPCC lead for facial recognition, said: “Live Facial recognition supports effective policing, enabling officers to locate suspects quickly and accurately.

“The increased access to Live Facial Recognition vehicles to forces that previously did not have the capability is an excellent opportunity for policing. Each Live Facial Recognition deployment will be targeted, intelligence-led, within a set geographical location and for a defined period of time, ensuring deployments are proportionate, lawful and necessary.

“Live Facial Recognition has already been used in policing to great success, locating thousands of wanted offenders, or others breaching their bail conditions. I am confident that the increased use of this technology will continue to support the safety of communities across the country moving forward.”

However, Big Brother Watch, UK civil liberties campaign group, expressed concerns about the technology. Rebecca Vincent, Interim Director of Big Brother Watch, said: “This unprecedented escalation in the use of facial recognition technology across the UK is alarming, and represents a significant expansion of the surveillance state. Live facial recognition turns every passerby into a walking barcode and treats us all as a nation of suspects.

"Police have interpreted the absence of any legislative basis authorising the use of this intrusive technology as carte blanche to continue to roll it out unfettered, despite the fact that a crucial judicial review on the matter is pending. The Home Office must scrap its plans to roll out further live facial recognition capacity until robust legislative safeguards are established.”

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