Met Police officers will trial using handheld facial recognition devices for the first time to help them check people's identities. Officers will be equipped with Operator-Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR) technology capable of scanning and identifying people on the spot for a six-month trial period. Sir Sadiq Khan said the pilot would give the Met an opportunity to test and evaluate the capability.
He stated that the advantage of the devices was to ensure officers can check and verify the details of any individuals stopped instead of having to arrest them and take them to a police station. Both the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the London Policing Ethics Panel will oversee the use of OIFR technology to ensure its use is right and proportionate and that Londoners have confidence and transparency if it is rolled out. Sir Sadiq Khan said the technology may not be rolled out if the results aren't as beneficial to the force as expected.
We already have no clear legal framework for LFR and now it's being further expanded with handheld devices that allow officers to walk up and scan people's faces.
The mayor revealed details of the scheme in response to questions from Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett in City Hall on Thursday. Around £763,000 has been allocated to the programme. The Met have been using facial recognition technology since 2020, deploying cameras on vans and in fixed locations.
The Met's increasing use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology as a whole has sparked concern from civil liberties campaigners and some London Assembly Members, with the introduction of handheld devices now sparking fresh concerns. Earlier this month Zoë Garbett called on the Met to immediately halt all LFR use until proper safeguards and regulations are in place. She alleged that the Met's website explicitly says they do not use this technology.
Garbett also claimed there is no clear legal framework for LFR and now it's being further expanded with handheld devices that allow officers to walk up and scan people's faces.