UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced on January 26 what she described as “the biggest reform to policing in two centuries,” including a fivefold expansion of live facial recognition vans from 10 to 50 across England and Wales.
The Home Office will fund 40 new live facial recognition (LFR) vans as part of a broader £115 million investment over three years into Police.AI, a National Centre for AI in Policing designed to test and deploy AI technology for criminal investigations and administrative efficiency.
The expansion represents the largest facial recognition rollout in UK history and will be supported by a new regulatory framework for police use of the technology. A public register will document AI systems currently deployed by police forces, and a public consultation is underway on regulation and privacy protections.
The Metropolitan Police has attributed recent drops in London murders partly to LFR use, with police across England reporting operational success. Permanent deployments have proven more effective than mobile units, according to law enforcement officials.
However, Human Rights Watch criticized the expansion, calling it “sacrificing human rights on a countrywide scale.”
The broader policing reform package totals more than £140 million in new technology investments, representing a significant escalation in biometric surveillance capabilities across the UK.
Sources: LBC, Al Jazeera
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
