By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-03-25 14:31:11 | Updated at 2025-03-25 23:38:46
9 hours ago
The Metropolitan Police is set to install permanent facial recognition cameras in Croydon, south London, in a UK first for high street surveillance technology.
The cameras will scan faces of passersby and match them against a database of wanted criminals, including those suspected of serious offences.
The pilot project could be extended across the capital if successful, marking a significant expansion of surveillance capabilities in public spaces.
The permanent installation follows a two-year programme using mobile facial recognition vans that has resulted in hundreds of arrests.
The cameras will scan faces of passersby and match them against a database of wanted criminals
PA
The permanent installation follows a two-year programme using mobile facial recognition vans that has resulted in hundreds of arrests
PA
If no match is found, the data is immediately deleted.
Mitch Carr, the Met's neighbourhood policing superintendent for south London, wrote to local community figures explaining the new approach.
"This will mean our use of LFR technology will be far more embedded as a 'business as usual' approach rather than relying on the availability of the LFR vans that are in high demand across London," he said.
Carr added that the cameras would only be switched on when officers are deployed and ready to respond to alerts.
The Met has previously stated the system has been accredited by the National Physical Laboratory and does not exhibit racial bias.
Privacy campaigners have expressed alarm at the development. Rebecca Vincent, interim director of Big Brother Watch, called it "a worrying escalation in the use of LFR with no oversight or legislative basis".
When active, the cameras scan faces of people walking past, immediately comparing them against a database of alleged criminals, including rapists, burglars and robbers
PA
"It's time to stop this steady slide into a dystopian nightmare and halt all use of LFR technology across the UK until legislative safeguards are introduced," she said.
However, Chris Philp, Conservative MP for Croydon South, strongly supports the initiative, saying: "This technology will mean wanted criminals are unable to wander round town and city centres without getting caught."
A Met spokesman defended the technology, saying: "The Met is committed to making London safer, using data and technology to identify offenders that pose a risk to our communities."
The force reported making over 500 arrests last year using facial recognition, targeting individuals "suspected of serious offences, including strangulation, stalking, domestic abuse and rape."
The spokesman added they would continue engaging with communities about the technology, "providing reassurances that there are rigorous checks and balances in place to protect people's rights and privacy."
