City to get live facial recognition for first time

Police will deploy live facial recognition (LFR) in Cambridge for the first time.

Cambridgeshire Police said LFR will be used in the city on Friday, following deployments in Peterborough earlier this year, which the force said had proved successful.

The system scans faces from a live camera feed and compares them in real time with a watchlist of high-risk individuals, including those wanted for criminal offences, with an outstanding warrant or subject to court-imposed requirements.

Sgt Luke Charlton said: "Live facial recognition is another valuable tool that helps us protect the public by identifying wanted offenders and those who may pose a risk to our communities."

Officers will review images flagged as a potential match and will decide whether or not to take further action, the force said.

It added that images which triggered an alert would be deleted after use within 24 hours, while the images and biometric data of those who did not trigger an alert would be automatically deleted.

Charlton added: "It allows us to locate people who are sought by the courts or wanted in connection with offences, helping us bring them to justice more quickly.

"We understand people may have questions about how the technology works, which is why officers will be on hand throughout the deployment to speak with members of the public and provide information."

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