Facial recognition technology scans 13,200 people in London but results in just one arrest

Metropolitan Police chief calls for government to draw up law on controversial technology amid human rights concerns, writes Lizzie Dearden

Tuesday 03 March 2020 20:25 GMT
The Metropolitan Police commissioner said facial recognition was being used in a ‘proportionate, limited way that stores no biometric data’
The Metropolitan Police commissioner said facial recognition was being used in a ‘proportionate, limited way that stores no biometric data’

More than 13,200 people have been scanned in facial recognition operations that resulted in just one arrest, new figures have revealed.

The Metropolitan Police has conducted two deployments of what it called a “fantastic crime-fighting tool” since it announced the rollout of the controversial technology in January.

The most recent, in Oxford Circus on 27 February, saw 8,600 faces scanned by cameras mounted on a police van.

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