Live facial recognition technology is set to be used at selected London Underground stations as part of a new British Transport Police (BTP) trial aimed at identifying people wanted for serious offences. The first deployment will take place at Victoria station on Tuesday, with the technology expected to be used at other key Tube stations during the trial. Transport for London (TfL) said the cameras will compare images of people passing through designated areas with a police watchlist. The system is intended to help officers identify people wanted in connection with high-harm offences, including sexual offences, robbery and knife crime. BTP will decide where and when to deploy the technology using intelligence and analysis of crime data, with the aim of targeting locations where it could have the greatest impact. TfL said that images of people who do not match anyone on the police watchlist will be automatically deleted immediately. The trial will operate within clearly marked areas at stations. TfL said this will allow passengers to make an informed decision about whether to pass through the areas, while BTP said alternative routes will be available. The Tube operation expands on a separate BTP trial involving major railway stations across London that began in February. Between February and July, facial recognition technology was deployed 18 times at major London railway stations, during which more than 530,000 faces were scanned. According to BTP’s published deployment records, none of those scans resulted in a confirmed match or an arrest. The system generated one false identification during the period. Siwan Hayward, director of security, policing and enforcement at TfL, said: “Everyone should be able to travel without fear of harassment, intimidation or violence. “Tackling violence against women and girls and preventing sexual offending on our network remains a key priority. “Live facial recognition