Alvi Choudhury, a 26-year-old software engineer from Southampton, is seeking damages from Thames Valley Police after being wrongly arrested for a burglary in Milton Keynes, a city he had never visited. The arrest followed a match by automated facial recognition software that confused him with a suspect of South Asian heritage who appeared '10 years younger'.
Choudhury was handcuffed at his home in January and held in custody for nearly 10 hours before being released at 2am. The software, procured by the Home Office from German company Cognitec, matched his image with CCTV footage of a £3,000 burglary 100 miles away. However, Choudhury noted significant differences: the suspect had lighter skin, no facial hair, a bigger nose, smaller lips, and appeared about 18 years old, while Choudhury wears a beard and is 26.
Research commissioned by the Home Office in December revealed that the technology produces a far higher rate of false positives for black (5.5%) and Asian (4.0%) faces compared to white faces (0.04%) at certain settings. Police and crime commissioners have warned of 'concerning in-built bias'. Thames Valley Police admitted the arrest 'may have been the result of bias within facial recognition technology' but said the decision was also based on a human visual assessment.
Choudhury offered evidence of work meetings in Southampton on the day of the crime but was still detained. He is now claiming damages from Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary, citing distress, his father's anxiety, and lost work. He also calls for greater transparency on wrongful arrests involving facial recognition. His mugshot remains on the police database following a previous wrongful arrest in 2021, raising fears of further errors.
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson denied the arrest was unlawful, stating it was based on an officer's visual assessment and not racial profiling. However, Choudhury said officers at the Hampshire police station laughed when he raised concerns about bias.
