London police make 500 arrests using facial recognition tech
LONDON—London’s Metropolitan Police force said on Friday that it had used facial recognition technology to make more than 500 arrests in 2024 for offences ranging from shoplifting to rape.
The force uses live facial recognition in specific areas of the UK capital, positioning a van equipped with cameras in a preagreed location.
The cameras capture live footage of passersby and compare their faces against a preapproved watchlist, generating an alert if a match is detected.
Civil liberties campaigners have criticized the use of such technology, and advocacy group Big Brother Watch has launched legal action to stop its expansion.
“The technology works by creating a ‘faceprint’ of everyone who passes in front of camera—processing biometric data as sensitive as a fingerprint, often without our knowledge or consent,” the group says on its website.
‘Dangerous’
“This dangerously authoritarian surveillance is a threat to our privacy and freedoms—it has no place on the streets of Britain,” it adds.
The Met says it is a “forerunner” in using the technology, adding that it helps “make London safer” by helping detect “offenders who pose significant risks to our communities.”
Of the 540 arrests, more than 50 were for serious offenses involving violence against women and girls.
