Live facial recognition cameras will target knife crime hotspots under new plans to slash rates by a third - Get your news delivered straight to you - sign up to the Morning Mail newsletter for FREE to be first with the day's biggest stories Live facial recognition cameras are to be introduced across the UK in knife crime hotspots under new plans to slash offences by a third. New national mapping technology is being shared with police which is capable of identifying the worst knife crime hotspots down to 100 square metres, even identifying the specific times it is most likely to occur. Forces will be able to switch on cameras to catch out offenders on specific streets associated with knife crime. Under a plan to slash rates by a third in two years, police will also be able to use visible police patrols, CCTV cameras and knife detection arches in an unprecedented crackdown. On Tuesday, ministers announced a £26million Knife Crime Concentrations Fund will be allocated to the 27 police forces in England and Wales that deal with 90 per cent of knife crime. The move comes after live facial recognition camera trials have shown impressive results, with police in the first UK town to get a static camera catching criminals every 34 minutes, spotting suspects on the run for 20 years in some cases. In October, Scotland Yard installed fixed cameras on lamp posts at the entrance and exit to Croydon town centre during a trial which resulted in over 100 arrests for offences including possession of knives, strangulation and sexual assault. The cameras work by taking digital images of passing pedestrians, feeding them into a computer using biometric software to measure facial features. Live facial recognition cameras are to be introduced across the UK in knife crime