A live facial recognition (LFR) trial at major railway stations in the UK scanned more than half a million faces over six months but generated only one alert, which proved to be an incorrect match, according to figures reported on 29 September.
Live facial recognition works by capturing images of people passing through a camera’s field of view and comparing them with facial images contained on a predetermined police watchlist.
The trial comes amid broader expansion of police use of facial recognition in the UK.
The false alert also illustrates the importance of accuracy and human oversight when facial recognition systems produce potential matches.
The BTP trial therefore provides practical evidence for the broader policy debate over the effectiveness, necessity, proportionality and oversight of LFR deployments in public spaces.