Behind the Met’s controversial live facial recognition tech

Rachael Burford, our Chief Political Correspondent, takes us behind the controversy over the Met police’s use of live facial recognition technology.

The faces of thousands of fans on their way to watch Arsenal v Tottenham were scanned by live facial recognition last month. In a bid to catch criminals and supporters barred from attending games because of their previous behaviour.

Now, the Standard can reveal that this type of technology, which was used by the Met Police at a Premier League football match for the first time, has resulted in three arrests.

However, concerns have been raised over the use of this technology. Privacy campaigners say by using these methods police are treating football fans like suspects. Claiming “it erodes public freedoms, wastes public money” and is “not an efficient crime-fighting tool.”

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