Key facts
- The Metropolitan Police will deploy live facial recognition cameras in central London by Christmas.
- The technology scans faces and compares them to a watchlist of wanted suspects.
- Critics argue the expansion constitutes mass surveillance and an infringement on privacy.
- The Met plans to expand the use to six additional areas in 2027.
- The Met states that human officers make all arrest decisions based on LFR alerts.
The Metropolitan Police is set to significantly expand its deployment of live facial recognition (LFR) technology, with plans to introduce fixed cameras in London's West End and Soho by Christmas. This move follows successful trials, including a six-month pilot in Croydon where 173 arrests were made and only one person was wrongly identified out of 470,000 scans. The technology scans faces and compares them against a watchlist of wanted suspects.