Essex police have paused the use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology following a study that found the system was significantly more likely to identify black individuals compared to those from other ethnic groups. The research, conducted by the University of Cambridge, involved 188 actors walking past cameras deployed from police vans in Chelmsford.
The study revealed that while the system correctly identified about half of the people on a watchlist and incorrect identifications were rare, it was statistically more likely to correctly identify black participants than others. This raises concerns about fairness, according to Dr Matt Bland, a criminologist and co-author of the report, who called for further investigation.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) confirmed the pause, warning other forces to implement mitigations. The technology, used by at least 13 police forces across the UK, has been criticised by campaign group Big Brother Watch, which described the findings as evidence of bias in experimental AI surveillance.
Essex police stated they paused deployments to work with the software provider and have since revised policies, expressing confidence in resuming use while continuing to monitor for bias. The Home Office reported that LFR cameras in London led to over 1,300 arrests between January 2024 and September 2025, including for serious crimes.
