Northamptonshire Police gears up for British Grand Prix with facial recognition technology

With less than a month to go before the UK’s highest attended sports event, the policing operation for the 2024 Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone is already underway.

Northamptonshire Police will once again be delivering a robust policing operation in the run-up to and during the event.

The Force has also confirmed that for the second year running it will be using live facial recognition (LFR) technology.

The technology works by scanning faces with a camera to match biometrics against those held on a watchlist, a list generated by the police and focusing on those who pose the greatest risk of danger to the wider public.

They include suspects wanted for offences or have an outstanding warrant for an arrest issued by the courts, those who pose a risk of harm to themselves or others and vulnerable missing people.

“It really is a year in the planning for both police and our partners – as soon as the chequered flag comes down on the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, we start preparing for next year’s event.

“Each year throws up its own challenges so we can never afford to become complacent, we take a ‘no stone unturned’ approach.

Detective Chief Supt Tompkins.

Locations where LFR is in operation will be clearly marked by signage at the circuit, which will include a QR code to scan for anyone who would like more information about the technology and officers will also be handing out information leaflets.

Uniformed and plain-clothed police officers will be patrolling the circuit, campsites, and the surrounding road network, while specialist teams including armed officers, search teams, disruption officers and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) units will also be deployed.

Working closing with the event organisers, other emergency services and partner agencies, this year’s policing operation will once again be led by Event Commander for Northamptonshire Police, Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Tompkins.

“Extra resources will be in place over the four days, made up of uniformed and plain-clothed officers, PCSOs, police staff, police dogs, specials, specialist vehicles and volunteers as well as policing colleagues from neighbouring forces.

“We are working closely with the event organisers, other emergency services and partner agencies to ensure that anyone looking to commit a crime, either at the Silverstone venue or in the surrounding area, fails.”

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