Introduction to Met Police Facial Recognition Pilot
Metropolitan police officers will begin scanning citizens’ faces using automated facial recognition technology to verify identities, a move supported by Mayor Sadiq Khan but criticized by opponents as "alarming." This pilot program involves 100 officers using roaming facial recognition technology, commonly found on smartphones, over a six-month period. Khan announced this on Thursday in response to questions from an opposition politician amid growing concerns about AI-powered policing tools. Notably, the Metropolitan Police Service (Met) website still states it "does not presently use the so-called operator initiated facial recognition."
Expansion of Facial Recognition in UK Policing
This initiative by the UK’s largest police force will expand the use of facial scanning in law enforcement, which has already been implemented via cameras on vans and fixed locations such as Croydon and South Wales. Retrospective facial recognition systems are also widely utilized across the UK.
Recent Issues and Contracts Involving Facial Recognition
This week, reported an incident where police arrested a man for a burglary in a city 100 miles away—a place he had never visited—after software mistakenly identified him as another person of South Asian heritage. Additionally, the Met has signed a £490,000 three-month contract with the controversial US AI firm Palantir to detect rogue officers based on their broader conduct.
Political Reactions and Concerns
Zoë Garbett, Green Party Assembly member whose question prompted Khan’s announcement, described the Met’s new tech pilot as "an alarming change."
"It’s a new technique, and it really changes the relationship with the public," she said during a City Hall meeting on Thursday. "They’re going to be able to literally walk up and scan people’s faces on the device."
Khan refuted this claim, clarifying that the technology would be used during police stops and when officers are not convinced that a member of the public has correctly identified themselves.
"The only alternative the police have is to arrest that person and take them to the police station," he explained. "So one of the advantages of this device … is to avoid that huge inconvenience and to see if the person they are speaking to is somebody whose face matches with somebody whose face they’ve got on the custody record."
Calls for Oversight and Ethical Considerations
The pilot was announced as the Equality and Human Rights Commission called for the establishment of an independent oversight body to regulate facial recognition technology use in the UK. Policing Minister Sarah Jones described the technology as "the biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching." However, Mary Ann Stephenson, chair of the equalities watchdog, warned of risks associated with the technology.
"There is a danger that these technologies can be inaccurate and falsely identify people. The data shows that there are racial disparities for false positive identification, causing human rights infringements and distress to those affected. That is why a strong legal framework is needed," she stated.
Existing Use of Operator-Initiated Facial Recognition
Operator-initiated facial recognition is already in use by South Wales police, where officers run NEC’s "NeoFace" algorithm on smartphones. The force explains that officers can use it "to confirm the identity of an unknown person who they suspect is missing, at imminent risk of serious harm or wanted, in circumstances when they’re unable to provide details, refuse to give details or provide false details."
The technology can also identify dead or unconscious individuals but cannot be used covertly. Another police force notes it can be used if there is "intelligence to suggest that they may pose a risk of harm to themselves or others." Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch criticized this as "nebulous" and providing "vast scope" for use in non-crime situations.
Criticism from Civil Liberties Advocates
Zoë Garbett expressed strong criticism of the pilot’s disclosure process and legal framework.
"It’s shocking that I had to force the mayor to disclose that they are trailing operator-initiated facial recognition technology," she said. "We already have no clear legal framework for live facial recognition and now it’s being further expanded with handheld devices that allow officers to walk up and scan people’s faces. In Britain, no one has to identify themselves to police without very good reason and this unregulated technology threatens that fundamental right."
Mayor’s Previous Statements and Government Consultation
In March 2024, Khan told the London Assembly:
"If the MPS were to use operator-initiated facial recognition, I would expect the MPS to consult stakeholders, including the London policing ethics panel, as well as undertake careful consideration of legal, policy, community, data protection and ethical impacts."
In December, Home Office Policing Minister Sarah Jones launched a 10-week consultation on facial recognition technology, stating:
"It has already helped take thousands of dangerous criminals off our streets and has huge potential to strengthen how the police keep us safe. We will expand its use so that forces can put more criminals behind bars and tackle crime in their communities."
Effectiveness of Live Facial Recognition Pilots
The Met reported that more than 100 wanted criminals were arrested in the first three months of the Croydon live facial recognition pilot, where cameras were mounted on lamp-posts.
