MPs have called on the Government to pause rolling out live facial recognition cameras, with Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy warning that bias and inaccuracy are all too common in the technology. Ribeiro-Addy said the use of live facial recognition cameras could lead to a very dangerous place, and she called for greater safeguards and suspension of rollout until errors are addressed. The Liberal Democrats echoed these concerns, stating there should be no national rollout of facial recognition until new legislation is in place. Max Wilkinson MP emphasized, 'There must be no national rollout of facial recognition until racial or other biases are eliminated, full impact assessments are published, and proper statutory safeguards are in place.'
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled plans to increase the number of LFR vans five-fold, with 50 available to all forces in England and Wales. Mahmood said new technology has the ability to help go after criminals and bring more people to justice, justifying the expansion as a tool to enhance public safety and law enforcement capabilities.
This is deeply concerning and the public are rightly worried about the Government's approach.
The Metropolitan Police has reported significant effectiveness with the technology, stating that more than 1,700 suspects have been taken off the streets since the start of 2024 thanks to live facial recognition. The suspects removed include people accused of serious violent crimes such as rape and child abuse, highlighting the system's role in targeting high-risk offenders and improving community security.
In response to bias concerns, Essex Police paused using live facial recognition technology over fears of racial bias. The force has since indicated that the software has been tweaked to address these issues, though details on the specific adjustments remain unclear. This pause reflects broader apprehensions about the technology's fairness and accuracy in diverse populations.
There must be no national rollout of facial recognition until racial or other biases are eliminated, the Home Office publishes full impact assessments, and Parliament has put proper statutory safeguards in place through primary legislation.
A Cambridge University study found that live facial recognition identified more black people than other groups, with six false positive alerts generated under extreme conditions, four of which involved Black individuals. However, the study noted that inaccurate identifications were extremely rare and the number was too low to draw solid conclusions, suggesting a need for further research to fully understand the extent of racial bias in these systems.
I really believe that new technology has the ability to help us go after criminals and bring more people to justice.