The Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has rejected demands to abandon the use of live facial recognition (LFR) cameras at this weekend's Notting Hill carnival, amid concerns over racial bias and a pending legal challenge. In a letter responding to 11 anti-racist and civil liberty organisations, Rowley insisted the technology would be deployed 'in a non-discriminatory way' using an algorithm that 'does not perform in a way which exhibits bias'.
The organisations, including the Runnymede Trust, Liberty, and Big Brother Watch, had urged the Met to scrap the technology at the event, which celebrates the African-Caribbean community. They claimed the lack of a legal framework allowed police to 'self-regulate' and deploy algorithms biased against ethnic minorities and women. Rowley acknowledged that previous use of LFR at the carnival in 2016 and 2017 did not build public confidence, but argued the current version is 'significantly improved' and independently tested.
The Met plans to mount cameras at entry and exit points of the two-day event in west London, which attracts up to 2 million people. Rowley said the technology would target the 'small minority' committing serious crimes, noting that 349 arrests were made at the 2024 carnival, including for homicide, rape, and weapons offences. He dismissed claims of operating without a legal framework, citing the Equality Act 2010, the European Convention on Human Rights, and data protection laws.
Rebecca Vincent, interim director of Big Brother Watch, criticised the move, saying: 'With no legislation governing live facial recognition, no governmental framework as promised by the home secretary, and a crucial judicial review pending, why the rush to accelerate use of this Orwellian technology?' She added: 'We all want criminals off the streets, but turning carnival into a mass police lineup is not the way to do it.'
