Sir John Whittingdale joined Essex Police Officers in Chelmsford High Street to observe the use of Live Facial recognition Technology. This was the 13th use by Essex Police of the technology, having previously been deployed in Harlow, Southend and Clacton.
The equipment is used to scan the faces of all those seen by the camera and the images are compared with a pre-determined watchlist. If there is no match then the image is deleted within a fraction of a second. Its use has already led to a number of arrests of individuals wanted for serious offences such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, aggravated burglary and shop-lifting.
Sir John is pictured with Sgt James Brewer who has overseen the LFR operations conducted by Essex Police.
Sir John said: “Live Facial Recognition Technology can play a valuable role in finding those who are suspected of serious offences. I am impressed by the strict limits which Essex Police put on its use including a narrowly drawn watchlist and the immediate deletion of images. However, it is worrying that there are no national rules or guidelines in place and I understand the concerns of Privacy Campaigners like Big Brother Watch about the potential for misidentification and the invasion of individuals’ privacy involved. I believe that Parliament needs a proper debate about this and I will be applying to hold one at an early opportunity.”
