UK Rail Cops Spend £320K on Face-Scanning Tech, Net Zero Matches
A six-month trial of live facial recognition cameras at London railway stations scanned over 500,000 faces but produced no correct matches or arrests, despite costing over £320,000
The British Transport Police spent over £320,000 on a six-month trial of live facial recognition cameras at London railway stations, scanning over 500,000 faces. However, the system generated only one alert, which was a false positive, and produced no correct matches and no arrests directly resulting from an LFR alert.
The trial used NEC's NeoFace M40 facial recognition tech, which uses cameras to scan people passing through a designated area, comparing their faces against a police watchlist. The system required almost 100 hours of police officers' time to operate.
Despite the lack of results, the trial has been extended until November and expanded from Network Rail stations onto the London Underground. This move has raised concerns among privacy campaigners, who argue that the technology is an invasion of people's rights and freedoms.
## Why it matters The use of live facial recognition technology has significant implications for people's privacy and civil liberties. With millions of Londoners using the city's stations every day, the potential for innocent people to be caught in a digital police line-up is high. The fact that the trial produced no correct matches or arrests raises questions about the effectiveness and value for money of the technology.
The extension and expansion of the trial will likely be closely watched by privacy campaigners and the public, who will be keen to see if the technology can produce better results in the future. However, for now, the £320,000 spent on the trial seems to have been a waste of public money, with no tangible benefits to show for it.
## What happens next The British Transport Police will continue to use the live facial recognition technology at London railway stations and on the London Underground until November. It remains to be seen whether the technology will produce better results in the future, or if it will be scrapped due to its lack of effectiveness. One thing is certain, however: the use of live facial recognition technology will continue to be a topic of debate and controversy in the UK.
