The Metropolitan Police made seven arrests in Croydon town centre yesterday by using Live Facial Recognition technology.
Warning signs: when the Met has deployed LFR before, they have put these banners up
LFR uses a live camera feed, or feeds, of people’s faces in crowds, and compares the live images against photos on a predetermined watchlist in order to locate “persons of interest”, generating an alert when a possible match is found.
The technology has in the past been mainly used – as far as the Met is telling anyone – at marches and large demos. But this week, the police in Croydon announced that they would be using LFR “at key locations”.
According to Scotland Yard, the technology “can be used in a number of ways by the Met, including to prevent and detect crime, find wanted criminals, safeguard vulnerable people, and to protect people from harm”.
They say, “LFR is not a ubiquitous tool that uses lots of CCTV cameras from across London to track every person’s movements. It is a carefully deployed overt policing tactic to help locate a limited number of people the police need to find in order to keep London safe.”
Note the use of “overt”.
There are a myriad of human rights and privacy considerations which ought to limit the use of Big Brother observation cameras on the public, and which ought to prevent the police using the technology covertly – though doubtless they do, and just keep schtum about it.
When the technology has been deployed previously in London, signs have been placed at the perimeter of the area being surveilled to provide a public warning.
Those privacy rights issues are probably also why, yesterday afternoon, Croydon police tweeted this message: “We’ll be using Live Facial Recognition technology at key locations in Croydon on Thursday 7 December.
“This technology helps keep Londoners safe [and] will be used to find people who threaten or cause harm, those who are wanted, or have outstanding arrest warrants issued by the court.”
This morning, there was a follow-up message: “Seven men were arrested following our deployment of Live Facial Recognition in Croydon yesterday.
“The men, aged between 19 and 49, were arrested for offences including rape, robbery, GBH, fraud, burglary and the supply of control drugs.
“All remain in custody.”
The police have issued no further messaging about if, or when, they will be repeating the exercise.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
- Inside Croydon – as seen on TV! – has been delivering local community news since 2010. 3million page views per year in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
- If you want real journalism, actually based in the borough, you should consider paying for it. Please sign up today. Click here for more details
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SIXTH successive year in 2022 in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
Our local MP (and Reichsminister for Crime, Policing and Fire), Chris Philp, is an enthusiastic supporter of facial recognition. In a move that you’d expect from the Chinese Communist Party, he wants the government’s passport database and its photos opened up to the spy cops and their cameras, so that our every move can be tracked. We’ll all be part of one great big virtual identity parade, 24/7/365.
He’s also supporter of the criminal gang known as the Conservative party, whose corruption, incompetence and disregard for human lives, human rights and international law is turning this country into a Gestapo khazi
I saw this in action around 4pm at the west Croydon end of north end. About 15 policemen standing about in what I can only describe as a state of feverish excitement. A Dystopian scene. This technology might mean police have even less reason to foster good community relations because they won’t need to rely on tip offs. I guess people who are afraid of being identified will have to start wearing masks
How dare they come to our Croydon with this technology.
If they lock up all our hard working criminals, the high street will loose it’s character. Imagine going to the shops and not having to be afraid of loosing your wallet or mobile phone. Utopian ideas, I know. It’s never going to happen. We will protest against these cameras and defend our privacy.
It’s “lose” not “loose” you loser.
How far was that tongue embedded in the cheek?
Griffin’s Law (what I just thought of) is that: every technology or legal measure than can be used for totalitarian purposes – facial recognition, ANPR etc etc – will eventually be used for totalitarian purposes.
It’s not a weapon – But in the wrong hands it becomes one. Split that tom and be dammed to the consequences.
Facial recognition is a tool. It led to 9 arrests. but I would not call that totalitarian. I would not call that successful justification either.
The usage to assist is not the problem. The problem comes when there are no controls on the usage.
If those 9 arrests lead to 5 – 9 convictions and have other concrete evidence supporting the arrest, charging and taking to court and being tried in public with all rights intact and and access to a decent properly funded public defence then the tool is fit for purpose.
If it is being used as a sheep dip exercise and leads to false imprisonment and a breach of human rights then the tool is being used wrongly.
The other factor is those images captured of everyone not wanted are not misused and properly deleted and that is checked.
From a residents perspective seeing so many Police in the town centre was good. And the Police do have a sense of humour.
but the difference between the London Road from Broad Green to West Croydon is stark. Perhaps some of those officers could have utilised time better by taking a stroll to the junction of Bensham Manor/London road and back again – even two? They might have found cause to arrest a few more than 9.
What is the problem.
If you have committed no crime. No worries. Let the police arrest the bad boys and girls and keep us ALL safe and sound Good job done.
At every turn the use of technology is taking away our freedom. The mobile phone used to be for making calls, now you cannot park, access your bank account or shop online without one. There are other forms of security but we are gradually being locked down inside our own country by our own Government, Councils and Business.
Pingback: Western democracy is being undermined by corporately funded think tanks - The Expose