British Government Expands Facial Recognition Van Network Across England, Wales
The move comes under the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, a broad public safety effort aimed at making communities across England and Wales safer.
The United Kingdom has officially announced the nationwide expansion of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) vans on Wednesday as part of the government's new crime-fighting strategy, reported PTI. According to officials, the vans are designed to help law enforcement locate and apprehend suspects involved in serious crimes, such as sexual offences, robbery, and knife attacks.
The move comes under the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, a broad public safety effort aimed at making communities across England and Wales safer. Under this guarantee, each neighbourhood will have a dedicated team of officers who are accessible to the public and focused on tackling local crime.
A total of 10 new LFR vans will be deployed to seven police forces: Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Sussex, and Thames Valley and Hampshire. The government says the vans will operate under strict deployment criteria, following guidance from the College of Policing, and will only be used where specific intelligence exists.
'These new facial recognition vans will equip police forces with targeted, cutting-edge technology to catch high-harm criminals," the Home Office said in a statement.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer highlighted the importance of visible and responsive policing at the community level. 'No one should feel unsafe leaving their homes. From today, every neighbourhood across England and Wales has named, contactable officers to tackle crime in our communities," Starmer said.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added that alongside the LFR vans, the government is also deploying 3,000 new neighbourhood police officers to address crimes including off-road bike offences, shoplifting, and street theft. 'And we will provide police with the tools they need to do their jobs. Facial recognition will be used in a targeted way to identify sex offenders or people wanted for the most serious crimes who the police have not been able to find," she stated.
According to the Home Office, existing LFR technology has already played a role in arresting suspects involved in rape, domestic abuse, knife crime, and robbery, and in locating sex offenders in breach of court orders. The technology has also been used to enhance security at large public gatherings like festivals and concerts.
Each van will be staffed by trained officers, who will monitor and verify matches flagged by the system. The facial recognition algorithm used has been independently tested by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and, according to the Home Office, has demonstrated no bias based on ethnicity, age, or gender at the settings currently used by UK police.
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