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As the roll-out of live facial recognition technology continues in England, Sussex Police used its new vans in Crawley and Redhill for its first deployments in the force area late last week.
Jointly using two of the ten vans funded by the Home Office, Surrey Police and Sussex Police acknowledged concerns about potential gender and ethnic bias resulting from the use of this technology. They said that LFR works by matching a live camera feed of people with a curated watchlist drawn from its data about people wanted for offences and that development in the technology “has greatly reduced and the national algorithm we will use shows no statistical bias.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Carwyn Hughes, Business Lead for live facial recognition for Surrey Police and Sussex Police, called LFR a “vital tool” in the fight against crime.
“We have been meticulously planning the rollout of the vans to ensure our use is appropriate, proportionate and that we are operating with transparency. We will only be deploying to specific locations based on crime data, hotspots and potentially as part of a wider operation.
“It is our responsibility to use every tactic and innovation available to us to keep the public safe, deter criminality, protect people from harm and locate the most serious of offenders – and the live facial recognition vans will help us to do exactly that.”
Calling it “a bold step forward in smart, targeted policing,” Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said it was Sussex’s turn to use the technology, adding that it was not about surveillance but about safeguarding. She, like DCS Hughes was keen to point out that where a match is not made with the watchlist, the image is deleted immediately.
Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend added that she welcomed the use of the technology in her area and their proportionate use to tackle crime in the county.
This comes in the same week that West Yorkshire Police deployed vans in its area for the first time, starting with Leeds city centre. Greater Manchester Police used its vans earlier this month and said that they had made two arrests and found one missing person as a result of the deployment in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.
The vans will be available to be used by other forces for mutual aid and will be funded by the Home Office for five years.
To hear more about how the technology works and the experience of South Wales Police and Bedfordshire Police, watch the Emergency Services Times webinar, Exploring live facial recognition and its role in public safety. Available on catch up now.