"We’ve got the potential to seriously enhance public safety through technology."

Modernising Policing week is about celebrating the technology which ultimately helps forces to do their jobs more effectively. Facial recognition is perfect example as it’s proven to be a game changer for police. It allows us to be more precise and tailor our resources in a way we couldn’t before.  

I’ve always been really interested in new and innovative technology and I believe Facial Recognition (FR) has the potential to seriously enhance public safety because it can help officers precisely identify and find wanted offenders. FR augments what an officer can do without replacing them. There will always be human interaction and the empathy and experience that an officer brings.  

All forces are currently able to use software to carry out retrospective facial searches and while this is a fantastic capability, I’m really excited about the developments in Live Facial Recognition (LFR).  

At the Metropolitan Police, where I’ve worked for the last six years, we are seeing real progress and since January, the deployment of LFR has helped with the arrest of more than 360 wanted offenders in London alone. At least 17 of these were wanted for VAWG related offences – including three males who were deemed high risk DV suspects. In that same timeframe, the Met also stopped more than 350 individuals who were subject to court-imposed conditions, to check they were abiding by them. Of those, more than 30 sex offenders were arrested due to breaches and many more have subjected to follow up action.  

LFR is a precise, controlled and targeted tool, only identifying specific individuals who have been added to a bespoke watchlist. It is not a so-called ‘mass surveillance’ tool. 

If you do happen to walk past the cameras and you’re not a match, your biometric data is immediately deleted. It’s important we challenge some of the myths and misconceptions around LFR because we want to be open and transparent with the public about our use of technology – especially those which may cause concern.  

Finally, I’d like to reaffirm our commitment to using technology responsibly and ethically. We’re committed to working with the public, academia, regulators, oversight bodies and the College of Policing. An ongoing dialogue with the public is important and we are always keen to listen to any concerns.