This is an important development for the Met and one which is vital in assisting us in bearing down on violence,” says assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave (pictured), “as a modern police force, I believe that we have a duty to use new technologies to keep people safe in London. Independent research has shown that the public support us in this regard. Prior to deployment we will be engaging with our partners and communities at a local level.
“We are using a tried-and-tested technology, and have taken a considered and transparent approach in order to arrive at this point. Similar technology is already widely used across the UK, in the private sector. Ours has been trialled by our technology teams for use in an operational policing environment.
“Every day, our police officers are briefed about suspects they should look out for; LFR improves the effectiveness of this tactic.
“Similarly if it can help locate missing children or vulnerable adults swiftly, and keep them from harm and exploitation, then we have a duty to deploy the technology to do this.”
The Met will begin operationally deploying LFR at locations where intelligence suggests we are most likely to locate serious offenders. Each deployment will have a bespoke ‘watch list’, made up of images of wanted individuals, predominantly those wanted for serious and violent offences.
At a deployment, cameras will be focused on a small, targeted area to scan passers-by. The cameras will be clearly signposted and officers deployed to the operation will hand out leaflets about the activity. The technology, which is a standalone system, is not linked to any other imaging system, such as CCTV, body worn video or ANPR.
’We all want to live and work in a city which is safe: the public rightly expect us to use widely available technology to stop criminals,” says Ephgrave, “equally I have to be sure that we have the right safeguards and transparency in place to ensure that we protect people’s privacy and human rights. I believe our careful and considered deployment of live facial recognition strikes that balance.”
The Met’s decision has been made while the EU decides whether to ban face recognition in public places for 3-5 years, while Google supports postponement of use of the technology pending finalisation of appropriate regulation and while a report has found that the Met’s system has an 81% inaccuracy rate.
Source: electronicweekly
