Met to expand use of live facial recognition into central London by Christmas (opens original article in a new tab)

The Metropolitan police plans to expand live facial recognition technology in London, first to the West End by Christmas and then to six more areas in 2027, citing crime-fighting benefits while facing criticism over privacy and potential bias.

• Metropolitan police plans to expand live facial recognition (LFR) technology into London's West End by Christmas and six more areas in 2027
• LFR scans faces in real-time and compares them with a watchlist of suspects, with human officers making arrest decisions
• Critics argue LFR intrudes on privacy and may discriminate against black people, while the Met claims it is effective and minimizes bias
• Static cameras will be placed in high-crime areas, with faces not matching suspects deleted immediately