Have Your Say on Live Facial Recognition Technology in Chatham

Good Afternoon Medway residents. 

Today Inspector Searle and officers from Medways community safety unit took to Chatham high street to promote and gain feedback on the proposed Live Facial Recognition cameras. 

Kent Police will be trialling a Live Facial Recognition vehicle in Chatham High Street on selected dates throughout September.

The purpose of this trial is to help officers identify individuals who may be wanted by police, missing, or otherwise of interest in connection with ongoing investigations. Where an alert is generated, officers can quickly assess the circumstances and take any appropriate action based on the individual situation.

I will stress that if an image taken has no policing purpose it is deleted immediately. 

We understand that the use of this technology may raise questions and opinions within our community, and we want to hear from you.

To help us better understand local views, we have launched a short survey consisting of just six questions. Whether you support the use of Live Facial Recognition, have concerns about it, or would simply like to learn more, your feedback is important and will help shape our understanding of community sentiment.

The survey only takes a couple of minutes to complete and can be accessed here:

Live Facial Recognition Public Perception Survey

We are committed to keeping our communities informed and ensuring that any use of technology is proportionate, transparent and focused on keeping people safe.

Thank you for taking the time to share your views.