Essex Police has paused its facial recognition programme following a Cambridge University study that found the technology was statistically more likely to correctly identify Black people and men compared to other demographics. However, testing by the National Physical Laboratory reached a conflicting conclusion, finding no statistically significant gender or ethnicity bias while recording an 89 per cent true positive rate and a 0.017 per cent false positive rate. Between August 2024 and February 2025, the force scanned roughly 1.3 million faces using Corsight's Apollo 4 software, resulting in 48 arrests. Despite the decision by Essex Police, the wider UK expansion of facial recognition continues under enhanced monitoring requirements, with 13 forces already using the technology and the Home Office planning to deploy 50 vans nationwide.

Background: Facial Recognition in Policing

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