The Metropolitan Police has announced plans to enhance the utilization of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology, having recorded no arrests resulting from false alarms within the last year.
According to the police force, between September 2024 and September 2025, there were 962 arrests made as a result of LFR operations.
Despite the absence of arrests from false alerts, the system did generate 10 erroneous alerts. Of these individuals, four were not detained, while the others were briefly engaged by officers for less than five minutes.
Lindsey Chiswick of the Metropolitan Police described the technology as a “significant and transformative asset.” However, rights organizations have expressed concerns regarding privacy implications and the risk of incorrect matches.
In a report released on Friday, the Metropolitan Police indicated that its LFR operations have contributed to over 1,400 arrests, with more than 1,000 individuals either charged or given cautions.
These arrests included individuals wanted by law enforcement or the judiciary, as well as offenders violating court orders, including sex offenders and stalkers.
Notably, over 25% of these arrests pertained to cases involving violence against women and girls, with some suspects facing allegations of rape, strangulation, and domestic violence.
The report highlighted a survey conducted by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, which revealed that 85% of participants supported the use of LFR to track down serious and violent offenders, as well as individuals wanted by the legal system or those posing a risk to themselves.
The advocacy group Big Brother Watch is challenging the Metropolitan Police’s employment of LFR, along with Shaun Thompson, who was mistakenly identified by the LFR system in February 2024.
In an interview with the BBC, Mr. Thompson described his experience as “intimidating” and “aggressive.”
The police force stated that LFR maintains a remarkably low false alert rate of 0.0003%, based on over three million facial scans.
Following the report, the Metropolitan Police pledged to “build on its success” by increasing the frequency of LFR deployments.
Ms. Chiswick, who leads the LFR initiative at the Metropolitan Police and nationally, affirmed: “We take pride in the outcomes achieved through LFR. Our mission has consistently been to ensure the safety of Londoners while fostering trust within our communities. The use of this technology is crucial in fulfilling that mission.
“It is a transformative and impactful tool that aids in apprehending dangerous criminals and delivering justice to victims.
“We are dedicated to maintaining transparency and engaging with our communities to showcase that our use of LFR is fair and impartial.”
According to the Metropolitan Police, any biometrics captured of individuals who are not sought by law enforcement are immediately and permanently deleted.
