Live facial recognition will be expanded across the country as part of a Government overhaul of neighbourhood policing.
The technology will be deployed to catch “high-harm” offenders, with new rules drawn up to support its use and ensure “safeguards and oversight”, the Home Office said.
Some 10 vans equipped with cameras will be rolled out across seven police forces – Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and Hampshire – over the coming weeks.
The cameras are already regularly used in London, with the first permanent live facial recognition (LFR) cameras installed in Croydon earlier this year.
Last month, the Met Police said a total of 1,035 arrests had been made using live facial recognition technology, including a paedophile found with a six-year-old girl.
Existing rules require checks only to be done against police watchlists of wanted criminals, suspects and those subject to bail or court order conditions like sex offenders.
But a Government consultation will launch in the autumn to help “shape a new legal framework” on its use, taking views on when and how the technology should be deployed.
Privacy campaigners have previously voiced concerns about a potential lack of regulation and transparency over the expansion of the technology.
The vans will be manned by trained officers and it will be for individual forces to decide how and when they are deployed in their areas, operating within the College of Policing guidance.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said they would be focused on identifying sex offenders or “people wanted for the most serious crimes who the police have not been able to find”.
“The algorithm being used in the vans has been independently tested and will only be operated in specific circumstances and with robust oversight,” the Home Office said.
Chief Superintendent Tim Morgan of South Wales Police, which is co-ordinating the rollout alongside the National Police Chiefs’ Council, sought to reassure the public that the technology would be used “ethically”.
“We understand the concerns which are raised about the use of live facial recognition technology and we use any new technology ethically and spend time and effort making sure it’s deployed in line with all legislation and guidance,” he said.
“It is important to remember that use of this has never resulted in a wrongful arrest in South Wales and there have been no false alerts for several years as the technology and our understanding has evolved.”
Lindsey Chiswick, NPCC lead for facial recognition, said live facial recognition had already been used “to great success, locating thousands of wanted offenders, or others breaching their bail conditions.”
“I am confident that the increased use of this technology will continue to support the safety of communities across the country moving forward,” she said.
Forces already deploying live facial recognition have used it to arrest rape, domestic abuse, knife crime and robbery suspects as well as sex offenders breaching their conditions.
Meanwhile, the Home Office said every community across England and Wales has now been assigned a “named, contactable” officer to handle reports of crimes like anti-social behaviour.
Their details will be made available for residents on their local force’s website, it is understood.
The pledge was made as part of the Government’s previously announced Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, under which forces have signed up to a commitment to respond to neighbourhood queries within 72 hours.
The Government said the move would help ensure “the public will have consistent direct links to their local force, with dedicated anti-social behaviour leads and new visible patrols in town centres”.
Ms Cooper said: “Neighbourhood policing has been decimated over the last 15 years, but through our Plan for Change we are turning the corner, starting with town and city centres.
“Within the next year, we will have 3,000 new neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in place, which is a big shift.
“We also want them to have more powers to tackle off-road bikes, shop theft, street theft and other crimes that have blighted some of our town and city centres, so everyone can feel safe in their own town.”
