FACIAL RECOGNITION OPERATES IN KINGSTON SHOPPING CENTRE
At least ten police officers were on hand in Kingston town centre today as the new facial recognition system was in operation to identify suspected criminals.
A small network of cameras surrounded a bright red van in the pedestrianised area with small groups of uniformed police officers on stand-by to arrest any suspects.
A senior police officer said one arrest had been made for an undisclosed crime during the day-long operation in Kingston and the unit also acted as an ‘effective deterrent.’
Yesterday the Metropolitan Police revealed that more than 170 wanted criminals have been arrested during a live facial recognition pilot in Croydon, which saw static cameras deployed for the first time.
Those arrested included people wanted for kidnap, rape and serious sexual assault, providing further evidence of the effectiveness of the live facial recognition (LFR) at removing dangerous offenders from the streets.
LFR deployments typically require the use of a dedicated van which houses both cameras and the computer equipment required to use them.