Facial recognition apps that allow police officers to carry out on-the-spot identity checks with their phones are being quietly adopted by UK forces before a potential national rollout. At least one force has also discussed using facial recognition technology with live-streamed body-worn video footage and using drone-mounted cameras to identify people at protests. The developments mark a significant expansion of the police’s use of facial recognition which, has to date, largely relied on cameras in public spaces and searches using images taken from sources such as CCTV and social media. Merseyside police is one of several forces to give officers access to handheld facial recognition technology, known as operator-initiated facial recognition (OIFR). OIFR allows officers to take photos of faces and search for matches on police databases. It is typically used when someone refuses to provide their identity or officers believe they have given a false name, although forces say it can also be used to check the identities of those who are unconscious or otherwise unable to provide details. Operator-initiated facial recognition is one of three types available to police. Retrospective facial recognition is the oldest form and is used to search images from crime scenes against pictures taken of people on arrest. Polling has found it to be the most acceptable form of facial recognition among the public. Live facial recognition uses live video footage of people passing cameras and comparing their faces to wanted lists. In December the government announced an expansion of facial recognition technology with the aim for it to be used daily by all 43 police forces in England and Wales. More than a dozen already use it routinely. Sarah Jones, the policing minister, wants it adopted by all of the forces, likening the impact on crime to the breakthrough of DNA matching in