Facial Recognition in Policing
Facial recognition is the most contested policing technology in use today. Live deployments scan faces in a crowd against a watchlist in real time, while retrospective systems match still images against custody databases. Coverage here tracks force deployments, accuracy and demographic disparity findings, legal challenges, and the regulatory position in the UK and abroad.
Latest coverage
US Customs and Border Protection officers have misused surveillance databases to spy on family members, pursue dates and pass intelligence to drug traffickers. Freedom of…
The Supreme Court is to hear a legal challenge over whether Delhi Police can use facial recognition on protesters. Member of Parliament A A Rahim has submitted a plea challenging…
The Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to examine whether the Delhi Police have legal backing to use facial recognition technology. The court will look into the force's use of…
The Supreme Court will examine the legality of Delhi Police using facial recognition and biometric surveillance against protesters. The court cited potential privacy violations.
Transport for London is running a trial of live facial recognition cameras on the London Underground. Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo described the move as a disturbing…
The Metropolitan Police are understood to be planning to use live facial recognition technology on London’s Oxford Street. Sadiq Khan has indicated the deployment will go ahead on…
British Transport Police is expanding a trial of live facial recognition technology to the London Underground, beginning at Victoria station. The system scans faces in a camera's…
Permanent live facial recognition cameras will be used on Oxford Street to scan shoppers and tourists for wanted suspects. Sir Sadiq Khan indicated the newly pedestrianised area…
Hyderabad Police have used facial recognition technology to help identify eight people with previous criminal records. Officers detained 116 suspicious individuals during the Lal…
Western Australia Police started a five-month trial in June using marked vans mounted with cameras. The vehicles scanned people's faces in real time. The police then matched the…
A hacker has revealed that printing "adversarial patterns" on everyday clothing can poison facial recognition algorithms. The method was presented at Black Hat. It achieves this…
Devon and Cornwall Police will use live facial recognition technology for the first time to coincide with the Boardmasters Festival. The force has defended its use of the…
Devon and Cornwall Police will use live facial recognition technology for the first time at the Boardmasters Festival in Newquay this weekend. A police van fitted with a biometric…
Police in Devon and Cornwall are rolling out live facial recognition technology to locate suspects or missing people. Officers will use the system for the first time in Newquay…
Devon and Cornwall Police will use new facial recognition tools in Newquay while the Boardmasters festival is under way. The force aims to use the technology to help mitigate the…
Indonesia's Traffic Corps has introduced facial recognition technology to its ETLE cameras. It will use the technology to identify traffic violators with fake or missing licence…
AI-based crowd monitoring technology installed in MCCVs will identify offenders using facial recognition. The system will give a precise count of people within a crowd. It will…
An artificial intelligence crowd management system featuring facial recognition technology is being used for Bonalu. The system monitors devotees, tracks offenders, manages…
Chennai Police have developed the IDENTIX application to assist in disguise identification. The software utilises Amazon Rekognition to rapidly match images against 5,300 criminal…
Facewatch, a private facial recognition company, is pitching to install its technology in British pharmacies. Campaign group Big Brother Watch has written to the Health and Social…
Italy's Senate has cleared a police biometric surveillance decree concerning facial recognition and the EU AI Act. The decree permits the retention of facial data collected from…
Police in New Delhi used facial recognition technology to identify nearly 2,900 people with criminal records at a protest. Those identified were among people attending a Cockroach…
A police force believes the media and public support them, making them unconcerned about using brutal tactics. Treatment also varies depending on social class, with separate rules…
Delhi Police used facial recognition technology in an AI van to scan thousands of student protesters at Jantar Mantar. The system operated at an 80 per cent match threshold. The…
Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament AA Rahim has filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi Police's use of facial recognition technology and…