Facial recognition vans to be rolled out in new areas
Seven UK areas where new police facial recognition vans are being deployed - full list
- Seven additional UK police forces are set to deploy new facial recognition vans, significantly expanding the controversial surveillance technology.
- The Home Office is funding the rollout to Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and Hampshire police forces.
- The technology uses vehicle-mounted cameras to identify individuals on watchlists, including wanted people and those subject to court orders.
- Civil liberties and anti-racism groups have criticised the expansion, citing the software's history of inaccurate outcomes and racial bias.
- Police maintain the technology has significantly improved in accuracy and will be used transparently, with public notifications of deployments and rapid deletion of non-matching images.