London police transparency push raises more facial recognition concerns London’s Metropolitan Police will begin releasing more body-worn camera footage as part of a transparency initiative aimed at providing greater context around police incidents. The move, however, has renewed scrutiny of how bodycam footage is used within the UK’s growing facial recognition ecosystem. The Metropolitan Police is revising the policy so that the public can see a full picture of incidents, it said on Monday. Videos from bodycams were previously only published after criminal proceedings, which sometimes take years to complete. The delay left the public relying on footage shared online by others, which sometimes only showed a partial picture. “We are increasingly seeing videos posted online, which are selectively edited or show a short snippet of a longer interaction,” says Met Police Commander Neerav Patel. “Without the full picture, this undermines the work of our officers.” The Met Police first tested body-worn cameras with a 500-officer pilot in May 2014, then deployed them force-wide to thousands of officers in October 2016. The recent decision comes after officers faced criticism over their use of force in viral videos filmed by bystanders. The latest case involved last month’s Golders Green knife attack in London, in which a man stabbed two Jewish men. Apprehending officers faced criticism online, prompting the police to release the body-worn footage filmed by Axon Body cameras. A similar move was made after the far-right “Unite the Kingdom” protest earlier this month, which also featured live facial recognition surveillance. “The public only sees a fraction of the incredible work that officers do each day, this new change in policy will allow them to see what we’re doing to keep them safe,” says Patel. Former UK Biometrics & Surveillance Camera Commissioner Fraser Sampson said that the Met Police move is