Technology

London will see live facial recognition at railway stations

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Live facial recognition signage outside Oxford Circus tube station in London.
Live facial recognition signage outside Oxford Circus tube station in London. Photo credit: Emergency Services Times.

British Transport Police is to begin trialling the use of Live Facial Recognition technology at railway stations in a six month pilot starting in London in the coming weeks.

Taking place at selected key transport hubs in the capital, British Transport Police says that the deployments will be intelligence-led, targeting crime hotspots on the transport network, with cameras located temporarily on station concourses.

Live facial recognition (LFR) technology is used to match people’s faces against a watchlist drawn up from police data systems including people wanted for crimes as well as missing people. If a face is not matched, it is deleted immediately. If there is a match, the system generates an alert, an officer reviews it and carries out further checks to determine if the person is a suspect. They then use their discretion to determine whether an arrest is necessary. 

As part of the use of LFR, police forces must publicise its use both in advance and in the locality of the deployment. BTP says it will use highly visible signage to inform the public about the operation, as well as QR codes available for feedback and further information. 

BTP said that the decision to pilot LFR follows a significant amount of research and planning, and is part of its commitment to using innovative technology to identify and apprehend individuals wanted for serious criminal offences.

This is another step in a roll-out by police forces in England and Wales that has seen LFR being used by forces in West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester,, Surrey, Sussex and Bedfordshire as well as continued deployments in Essex, South Wales and by the Met in London.

Addressing public concerns about privacy, Chief Superintendent Chris Casey from BTP said: “I can assure anyone concerned about their privacy that we’re absolutely committed to using LFR ethically and in line with privacy safeguards. Deployments will comply with all relevant legal and regulatory standards, and oversight will include internal governance and external engagement with ethics and independent advisory groups.”

He added that BTP will carry out a full assessment of the pilot to evaluate the effectiveness of LFR on the railway network, its impact on public safety, and the public’s response to the technology.

Watch our recent webinar with panelists from South Wales Police and Bedfordshire Police.

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Catherine Levin

Catherine writes and commissions content from across the emergency services as well as interviewing senior leaders. She also hosts our webinar series exploring timely topics with a range of speakers.

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