Facial recognition cameras in England and Wales scanned 9.25 million faces last year, leading to 1,317 arrests — one every 90 minutes on average. Of those, 450 were suspected violent offenders, police data shows.
The Metropolitan Police, which operates the most live facial recognition, said most people on its watchlist were wanted by the courts, with a fifth linked to serious crime. When the system flags a match, officers confirm identity using photo ID or mobile fingerprint scanners.
Deployments Surge Nationwide
Deployments are common at crime hotspots such as football and international rugby matches, concerts and air shows. At last year's Notting Hill Carnival in west London, facial recognition led to 61 arrests, including a man who allegedly stabbed someone five times with a machete.
Fourteen of Britain's 45 police forces used the tech last year, including Hertfordshire, Merseyside and Suffolk for the first time. The systems were deployed 369 times, up from 63 in 2023 and 246 in 2024. The Met alone used it 231 times, scanning 4.2 million faces and making 1,133 arrests.
Government Expansion Plans
In January, the government announced plans to increase the number of surveillance vans from 10 to 50, making them available to all forces. Of 2,800 nationwide alerts last year, 18 were misidentifications.
A Met spokesman said: “These figures highlight why live facial recognition is such a crucial tool in tackling the most violent offenders - including those who harm women and girls.”
Criticism from Privacy Groups
Jasleen Chaggar, senior legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch, said millions of law-abiding citizens were being caught in the net of surveillance. “With more than a dozen innocent people wrongly identified, it's clear that we all have something to fear from this Orwellian tech,” she added.
