London facial recognition trial yields no arrests

A six-month trial of live facial recognition (LFR) technology in London railway stations resulted in no arrests and one false positive identification. Conducted by the British Transport Police (BTP) between February and July, the trial involved scanning over half a million faces across 18 deployments at major transport hubs.

Documents obtained via freedom of information requests indicate the trial cost approximately £320,786 in equipment hire and police staffing, consuming nearly 100 hours of officer time. Despite the costs, the only alert generated against a suspect watchlist was an incorrect identification.

Following the initial phase, the BTP announced a four-month extension of the trial, which will expand to include London Underground stations. Transport for London has expressed support for the expansion, stating the technology aims to identify individuals on watchlists to help tackle violence against women and girls. Since the extension began, the BTP reported three positive confirmed alerts involving individuals complying with sexual harm prevention orders or other court conditions.