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30
Sept
Live facial recognition: Stats revealed for first use in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire Police has provided details of its first ever deployment of live facial recognition (LFR) technology.
LFR was used in York city centre last week, programmed to look out for 2,127 individuals, who were added to the force's watchlist for various reasons.
Over five hours from 10.50am to 3.50pm, the cameras scanned 15,437 faces and generated 12 positive matches to people on the watchlist.
As a result, police officers arrested a 37-year-old man from York for breaching court bail.
They also engaged with two people linked to intelligence-related alerts, and stopped eight individuals subject to Sexual Harm Prevention Orders. After confirming they were complying with the terms of their orders, no further action was required.
Facial recognition technology maps a person's unique facial geometry and turns it into a 'fingerprint' to compare across databases.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said the system was capable of doing what human officers could not realistically achieve. They said:
While our neighbourhood policing officers have extensive local knowledge and are familiar with many individuals in their area, it is not realistic to expect any officer to recognise every person on a watchlist.
Live facial recognition helps officers identify individuals who may otherwise go unnoticed, particularly in busy public spaces or where officers may have had no previous contact with them. It is therefore fair to say that the technology enables positive matches that officers may not have been able to make, or would have found much more difficult to make, through traditional policing methods alone.
While the LFR system operated, police officers spoke with members of the public, explaining how the technology works, why it was being used, and answering questions from passersby.
They also asked people to complete a survey to gain an insight into public perception of the technology. Of the 42 people polled, 92.9% supported North Yorkshire Police making further use of LFR, and 95.2% supported its use to help tackle violence against women and girls.
LFR vans will be deployed at other places across the region.
The results also showed that the vast majority of respondents had a better understanding of LFR after speaking with the force's engagement officers, were confident it would help police identify people they were looking for, and said its presence made them feel safer.
The police spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:
Overall, the first deployment was deemed a success, delivering positive operational results and receiving strong support from the majority of members of the public who engaged with us during the operation.
The claimed success of the LFR deloyment paves the way for its use in other places across North Yorkshire, including towns across the Harrogate district.
North Yorkshire Police said that all deployments of LFR technology would be in "carefully selected locations", based on intelligence and operational need. Details of future deployments, including dates and locations, will be published on the force's website in advance here.
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