Ten live facial recognition vans will be deployed - but human rights groups argue the tech is "dangerous and discriminatory".
The police's use of facial recognition technology is to be significantly expanded in an attempt to catch more offenders, ministers have announced.
Under the plans, 10 live facial recognition (LFR) vans will be used by seven forces across England to help identify "sex offenders or people wanted for the most serious crimes", according to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
The tech, which has been trialled in London and south Wales, will be subject to strict rules, the Home Office said, but human rights groups have warned it is "dangerous and discriminatory".
Amnesty International UK said the plans should be "immediately scrapped", with facial recognition proven to be "discriminatory against communities of colour".
"It has been known to lead to misidentification and the risk of wrongful arrest," said Alba Kapoor, the charity's racial justice lead, "and it's also known to be less accurate in scanning the faces of people of colour."
The Home Office said the LFR vans will only be deployed when there is "specific intelligence", and will be operated by trained officers who will check every match made by the cameras.
The vehicles will also only be used against bespoke watch lists, compiled for each use under guidelines set by the College of Policing.
The vans will be operated by police forces in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Sussex (jointly), and Thames Valley and Hampshire (jointly).
Source and further reading:
news.sky.com
The police's use of facial recognition technology is to be significantly expanded in an attempt to catch more offenders, ministers have announced.
Under the plans, 10 live facial recognition (LFR) vans will be used by seven forces across England to help identify "sex offenders or people wanted for the most serious crimes", according to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
The tech, which has been trialled in London and south Wales, will be subject to strict rules, the Home Office said, but human rights groups have warned it is "dangerous and discriminatory".
Amnesty International UK said the plans should be "immediately scrapped", with facial recognition proven to be "discriminatory against communities of colour".
"It has been known to lead to misidentification and the risk of wrongful arrest," said Alba Kapoor, the charity's racial justice lead, "and it's also known to be less accurate in scanning the faces of people of colour."
The Home Office said the LFR vans will only be deployed when there is "specific intelligence", and will be operated by trained officers who will check every match made by the cameras.
The vehicles will also only be used against bespoke watch lists, compiled for each use under guidelines set by the College of Policing.
The vans will be operated by police forces in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Sussex (jointly), and Thames Valley and Hampshire (jointly).
Source and further reading:
Facial recognition vans to be rolled out across police forces in England
Ten live facial recognition vans will be deployed - but human rights groups argue the tech is "dangerous and discriminatory".