The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has defended the use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology, calling it a "vital tool" for policing. The technology has recently been deployed in Croydon as part of a months-long operation leading to 45 arrests. Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain, who leads policing in Croydon, has addressed privacy concerns raised by campaigners and politicians, saying that people "don't need to panic" as signs in monitored areas indicate that LFR technology is in use. Mr Brittain also noted that the deployment had outperformed the 1 in 6,000 false-positive identification rate the Met had previously been working to.
In a statement for the article, senior advocacy officer at Big Brother Watch, Madeleine Stone, warned that "the police are able to scan us like barcodes" and that the use of LFR technology has turned the streets into "permanent police line-ups."
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