ALBAWABA - The London Metropolitan Police Service (Met) said on Friday that it has arrested more than 500 individuals in 2024 over offenses ranging from assault to theft using advanced Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology.
LFR works by placing cameras in specific areas, like vans parked in public spaces. These cameras record individuals as they pass by and compare their photos to a watchlist of those who are wanted, the system then sends out an alert when a match is found, allowing cops to take immediate action.
According to the Met, LFR is a crucial development in their toolkit for combating crime, “This technology is helping us keep our communities safe,” said Lindsey Chiswick, Director of Performance at the Met, adding “It allows officers to focus on individuals who present the greatest risks and might otherwise remain undetected.”
More than 50 of the 540 total arrests were for serious offenses related to violence against women and girls, including assault, strangling, stalking, and domestic abuse. Furthermore, over 400 suspects have been charged or cautioned, demonstrating the system’s potential ability to deliver justice.
Despite its achievements, civil liberties groups like Big Brother Watch have criticized LFR, claiming the technology violates privacy as a “dangerously authoritarian” type of monitoring, AFP reports. The organization cautions that face recognition uses biometric information akin to fingerprints, often without the public's knowledge or agreement.
The Met claims to have put strong measures in place to mitigate these worries; if someone who is not on a watchlist is scanned, their biometric information is instantly and permanently purged. Additionally, police officers examine the matches produced by the system to make sure that no actions are done without doing proper inspections.
