Facial Recognition

Facial Recognition

Finding wanted people. Protecting our communities 

Earlier this year we announced that we would be using Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology within York and North Yorkshire to help protect vulnerable people and tackle serious crime.

LFR is used in carefully selected, intelligence‑led locations to help identify individuals who are wanted by the police or the courts; are suspected of committing an offence; are unlawfully at large or wanted on recall to prison; may breach bail conditions, a court order or another restriction by being in the deployment area; are missing and assessed as being at increased risk of harm; or present a risk of harm to themselves or others.

The technology works by comparing live camera footage to a watchlist made up of individuals who meet the criteria above. When the system identifies a potential match, officers are alerted and will immediately review the information, carry out further checks and determine whether action is required. Images that do not match the watchlist are deleted immediately and permanently. The watchlist itself is deleted at the conclusion of each deployment.

A number of forces across the country are now using the technology to successfully locate wanted individuals more efficiently, protect vulnerable people and deter crime through targeted deployments.

Our first deployment will take place this Wednesday (23 September) in York city centre and, in line with national guidance, all future deployments will be publicised in advance.

If you see us while we're out and about on Wednesday, please feel free to come and speak to one of our engagement officers, who will be happy to tell you more about the technology and answer any questions you may have.

For more information, please visit our website where you can also find answers to some frequently asked questions. Link below in the comments