The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is set to permanently install live facial recognition (LFR) cameras in Croydon, South London, beginning in June or July. The development marks the first permanent deployment of such technology in the country and follows a successful two-year pilot program using LFR-equipped vans, which resulted in numerous arrests.
The permanent cameras will be mounted on existing infrastructure, such as lampposts and buildings, and will only be activated when officers are present and prepared to respond to database matches. The move signals that LFR technology is being embedded into routine policing, providing greater flexibility compared to mobile LFR vans.
In a statement, Rebecca Vincent, interim director of Big Brother Watch, said: "We are alarmed by reports that Croydon police are installing an unprecedented permanent network of fixed live facial recognition cameras across Croydon town centre, which marks a worrying escalation in the use of LFR with no oversight or legislative basis.
"This comes on the back of a failed trial in Cardiff, where anyone who entered the city centre was subjected to mass surveillance through a network of temporary LFR cameras, as police scanned more than 160,000 faces during a Six Nations game, but made zero arrests.
"It’s time to stop this steady slide into a dystopian nightmare and halt all use of LFR technology across the UK until legislative safeguards are introduced."
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