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Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology will be deployed in Bedford town centre on 19 September, as Bedfordshire Police begins rolling out its new surveillance capability.
The force is one of seven across England and Wales to receive the technology, following a Home Office announcement last month. Recently used by the Metropolitan Police at the Notting Hill Carnival and South Wales Police during this year’s Six Nations rugby, LFR is designed to help officers identify high-harm offenders who have evaded the police or courts.
Bedfordshire Police said the technology will also support safeguarding operations, such as tracing high-risk missing people and locating vulnerable individuals.
Superintendent Ian Taylor, the force’s LFR strategic lead, said: “We’re proud to announce the launch of Live Facial Recognition in Bedfordshire with our first deployment due to take place next week in Bedford. LFR supports policing with an unmatched advantage to identify and detain wanted individuals, ensuring criminals are brought to justice swiftly and the communities of Bedfordshire are protected from crime and harm.”
LFR compares live camera feeds against biometric templates created from a watchlist of police images. These lists, which are unique to each deployment, can include people wanted by the courts, those subject to bail conditions or specific court orders. If a match is flagged, officers review the result before engaging with the individual to confirm their identity.
Governance of the technology has been set out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreed between Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) John Tizard and the Chief Constable. The MOU outlines oversight arrangements and the creation of an Ethics Panel to scrutinise compliance and community impact.
PCC John Tizard said: “I am pleased that Bedfordshire Police has taken delivery of two specialist Live Facial Recognition vans as part of a Home Office rollout of ten LFR vans across the country, equipping police officers with targeted, cutting-edge technology to catch high-harm criminals. In order to fulfil my duties and ensure effective governance of the use of LFR, I have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chief Constable, and I will be introducing an ethics panel for the wider use of AI in policing.”
The technology has already been tested in Bedfordshire. During the 2024 Bedford River Festival, mutual aid support from South Wales Police enabled the deployment of LFR, which scanned more than 415,000 faces across two days. With a watchlist of 550 individuals, seven people were identified, and no false alerts were recorded.
Find out more about LFR at The Emergency Tech Show
The debate around live facial recognition goes beyond arrests. Police forces across the UK are considering how to use the technology in a way that is ethical, transparent and effective.
This year’s The Emergency Tech Show will host a dedicated session titled ‘Live Facial Recognition – bringing communities with you‘ on 18 September. The session will feature Police Scotland and Devon & Cornwall Police, who will share insights from their own journeys with LFR. Both forces will discuss how they are consulting the public and working to ensure deployments are ethical, proportionate and focused on enhancing community safety.
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