Met Police to Expand Live Facial Recognition Use in Central London

Future expansion is planned for six additional areas in 2027, with the Met hoping for local council contributions to the cost. The force insists that human officers retain final decision-making authority on any arrests following an LFR alert. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described LFR as a "revolutionary technology advance," citing public confidence and its effectiveness in crime reduction.

However, the expansion faces strong criticism from privacy advocates. Silkie Carlo of Big Brother Watch described the move as an "alarming escalation" and an "affront to the idea that you should not have to identify yourself to the police if you have done nothing wrong." Critics argue that LFR subjects innocent people to a "digital police lineup" and that the algorithms can exhibit bias, particularly against Black individuals, though the Met claims to have mitigated this by reducing algorithm sensitivity.