UK Police Expand Usage of Facial Recognition Vans

The UK Government has announced the deployment of 10 new Live Facial Recognition (LFR) vans across seven police forces in England, saying the move will help officers track down suspects wanted for some of the most serious crimes.

What?

On 13 August, the Home Office confirmed that vans equipped with live facial recognition cameras will be shared between Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Sussex (jointly), and Thames Valley and Hampshire (jointly). The rollout is part of the government’s wider “Plan for Change” in policing, which also includes neighbourhood policing guarantees and the recruitment of 13,000 more officers by 2029.