Weapons Seized as Kent Police Debuts Real-Time Face Matching

Kent Police reported two arrests and the recovery of weapons during its first deployment of live facial recognition, carried out in Chatham over two days.

The force used live facial recognition vehicles and equipment supplied by Essex Police on September 11 and 12. Cameras captured faces of people passing through the deployment area and compared them with images on a predetermined police watchlist.

Police said a system alert prompted officers to stop and search one person during the first hour of the operation. The search found weapons, leading to that person’s arrest and the arrest of a second individual. The force did not treat the software’s alert as sufficient grounds for an arrest on its own.

Live facial recognition performs one-to-many matching in real time, comparing each detected face against multiple watchlist images. Officers review potential matches before deciding whether to approach someone. Kent Police said signs were placed around the area and officers distributed information leaflets while the system was operating.

The force listed locating people wanted by police or the courts, protecting vulnerable people and supporting the detection and prevention of crime among the purposes of the deployment. It also said watchlists could include people subject to bail conditions or court orders and individuals who might present a risk to themselves or others.

Essex Police, which supplied the equipment, has made live facial recognition a regular part of its operations. The neighboring force recently reported 200 arrests linked to the technology since it began deployments in October 2025.

The Kent trial joins a growing number of overt police deployments in Britain. Governance remains an operational requirement as forces expand the technology: the Information Commissioner’s Office recently identified recordkeeping and oversight gaps in its review of live facial recognition programs run by two other police forces.

Kent Police said images of people who do not generate an alert are automatically deleted. Data associated with confirmed matches can be retained under existing policing rules when it is needed for an investigation or another lawful purpose.

The two-day operation was based in Chatham town center and used mobile police vehicles rather than facial recognition cameras permanently installed along the street.

Sources: Kent Police, Yahoo News / BBC

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team