A woman wanted for more than 20 years has been arrested during a six-month trial of live facial recognition in south London.
In total 173 suspects were arrested for crimes including kidnap, rape and serious sexual assault during the pilot in Croydon, during which static cameras rather than vans were used for the first time.
The Metropolitan Police said that crime in the area reduced by 10.5% during the trial, which took place between October 2025 and March 2026, including a 21% reduction in violence against women and girls.
The static cameras, placed on Croydon High Street, were used in 24 operations, with arrests including a 36-year-old woman who was wanted for failing to appear at court for an assault in 2004.
A 31-year-old man who was wanted for voyeurism for more than six months was also arrested, as well as a 41-year-old man who was wanted in connection with a rape in November in Croydon.
Lindsey Chiswick, national and Met lead for live facial recognition, said: “These results show why live facial recognition is such a powerful tool when it’s used carefully, openly and in the right places.
“Crime in this area is down by more than 10%, and the public can see the difference.
“This technology is helping us find people wanted by the courts, identify serious offenders quickly and focus our resources where they make the biggest impact, all with exceptional accuracy.
“We will continue using static cameras in Croydon as part of our regular live facial recognition deployments which play a vital part in keeping London safe.”
More than 470,000 people walked past the camera during the pilot, which saw one false alert for which the person was spoken to by officers and then allowed to leave.
