A live facial recognition (LFR) technology trial on a busy south London street led to 170 arrests over six months, according to the Metropolitan Police. The pilot took place in Croydon town centre between October 2025 and March 2026. Over this period, the Met said LFR technology led to a 10.5% reduction in crime compared with the same period the previous year. Violence against women and girls offences saw the biggest reduction, falling by 21%. Arrests included a 36-year-old woman wanted for more than 20 years for failing to appear at court for an assault and a 41-year-old man wanted for rape relating to an incident in November. The pilot marked the first time that the Met in London has operated LFR deployments without the need for a police van. Previously, the cameras were mounted on vans and could only be used when officers were present in the vehicle. Instead, the pilot saw LFR cameras mounted on existing street furniture – such as lamp posts – at two locations on either ends of North End, a pedestrianised road in Croydon town centre. Cameras are only activated during deployments, when officers are present on the ground with fellow officers monitoring the camera feeds remotely. If there is an alert and someone is identified by the system, officers on the ground will talk to them and make any necessary arrests. In total, there were 24 separate deployments, during which 173 arrests were made – the equivalent of one arrest every 35 minutes. Croydon was specifically selected for the trial because of its status as a crime hotspot. Each deployment maps a person’s unique facial features and matches them against a “bespoke, intelligence-led watchlist”. After the deployment concludes, any biometric data from members of the public who are not wanted by the police