Cliff Notes
- The Metropolitan Police have made over 1,000 arrests using live facial recognition technology, identifying criminals, including 93 registered sex offenders and individuals linked to serious violence against women and girls.
- Human rights group Liberty argues for new laws to govern facial recognition use, highlighting concerns over privacy and the absence of legislative frameworks in the UK for such technology.
- The Met Police claim that robust safeguards are in place, stating that nearly two million faces have been scanned since January 2022, as they aim to enhance public safety without retaining biometric data of non-wanted individuals.
Met Police release footage as more than 1,000 arrests made using live facial recognition technology | UK News
More than 1,000 criminals, including a paedophile found with a six-year-old girl, have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police using live facial recognition (LFR) cameras.
David Cheneler, 73, was among 93 registered sex offenders held by Met officers using the controversial technology since the start of last year.
He was discovered with the girl after he was identified by a camera on a police van in Camberwell, south London, in January.
Cheneler, from Lewisham, was jailed for two years in May after admitting breaching his sexual harm prevention order by being with a child under the age of 14.
The Met said a total of 1,035 arrests have been made using live facial recognition technology – where live footage is recorded of people as they walk past, capturing their faces, which are then compared against a database of wanted offenders.
If a match is determined, the system creates an alert which is assessed by an officer, who may decide to speak to the person.
They include more than 100 people alleged to have been involved in serious violence against women and girls (VAWG) offences such as strangulation, stalking, domestic abuse, and rape.
Adenola Akindutire was stopped during an operation in Stratford and arrested over the machete robbery of a Rolex watch, which left the victim with life-changing injuries after the attack in Hayes, west London.
Police said the 22-year-old, who was linked to a similar incident and had been released on bail, was in possession of a false passport and could have evaded arrest if it wasn’t for the technology.
Akindutire, of no fixed address, admitted charges including robbery, attempted robbery, grievous bodily harm, possession of a false identity document and two counts of possession of a bladed article and faces sentencing at Isleworth Crown Court.
Darren Dubarry, 50, was already wanted for theft when he was caught with stolen designer clothing in Dalston, east London, after riding past an LFR camera on his bike.
The 50-year-old, from Stratford, east London, was fined after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods.
Lindsey Chiswick, the Met’s LFR lead, hailed the 1,000 arrest milestone as “a demonstration of how cutting-edge technology can make London safer by removing dangerous offenders from our streets”.
“Live Facial Recognition is a powerful tool, which is helping us deliver justice for victims, including those who have been subjected to horrendous offences, such as rape and serious assault,” she said.
“It is not only saving our officers’ valuable time but delivering faster, more accurate results to catch criminals – helping us be more efficient than ever before.”
The Met say “robust safeguards” are in place, which ensure no biometric data is retained from anyone who walks past an LFR camera who isn’t wanted by police.
Almost 2 million faces scanned
But human rights group Liberty is calling for new laws to be introduced to govern how police forces use the technology after Liberty Investigates found almost 1.9 million faces were scanned by the Met between January 2022 and March this year.
Charlie Whelton, Liberty policy and campaigns officer, said: “We all want to feel safe in our communities, but technology is advancing quickly, and we need to make sure that our laws keep up.
“Any tech which has the potential to infringe on our rights in the way scanning and identifying millions of people does needs to have robust safeguards around its use to protect us all from abuse of power as we go about our daily lives.
“There is currently no overarching law governing police use of facial recognition in the UK, and we shouldn’t leave police forces to come up with these frameworks on their own.
“Almost two million faces have been scanned in London before Parliament has even decided what the laws should be.
“We need to catch up with other countries, and the law needs to catch up with the use. Parliament must legislate now and ensure that safeguards are in place to protect people’s rights where the police use this technology.”
