Weapons seized and two arrests made during Kent Police facial recognition trial in Chatham

Kent Police made two arrests and seized weapons during their first deployment of live facial recognition technology in Chatham. Privacy groups warn expansion has outpaced regulation.

Kent Police seize weapons in first live facial recognition operation

Kent Police arrested two people and recovered weapons during the force's inaugural deployment of live facial recognition technology in Chatham on Friday, bbc.co.uk reports.

The system, which compares faces captured in public spaces against a police watchlist, was used across two days in Chatham. It can be used to identify wanted criminals, people subject to court orders and selected missing persons.

Acting Supt Gary Woodward said a stop and search prompted by the technology led officers to find "somebody with weapons" who, in his assessment, would likely have gone undetected without the system. The two arrests were made within approximately one hour of deployment.

Woodward described the technology as "nothing short of groundbreaking stuff" for Kent Police, drawing a parallel with the introduction of CCTV. "We'll be reviewing it as quickly as Monday to see how effective and impactive it has been," he told the BBC.

The force is using vehicles and equipment belonging to Essex Police for the deployments. Kent Police says the software is "independently tested across different demographic groups" to ensure fairness. Images captured of individuals not on the watchlist are "deleted immediately", according to the force.

Sgt James Brewer from Essex Police, who operated the technology on Friday, said the system provided him with "a list of people that I might not ordinarily speak to". He acknowledged it "can make mistakes" but said there was "a human in the loop for that very reason", adding that officers conduct further checks on positive matches before taking action.

Charlie Whelton from Liberty, a campaign group calling for restrictions on live facial recognition, said the expansion of the technology had "come before any real regulation". "We've not had that conversation as yet as to where we put the lines," he said.

Woodward maintained that officers must comply with a "really strict set of guidelines" and require a "clear reason" before the technology can be deployed.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)