A live facial recognition (LFR) technology trial on a busy south London street resulted in more than 100 arrests over three months, according to the Metropolitan Police.
The pilot was launched in October 2025 and 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.
This marked the first time that Metropolitan Police in London operated LFR deployments without need for a police van. Previously, the cameras were mounted on vans and could only be used when officers were present in the vehicle.
This pilot, however, enabled the Met to monitor camera feeds remotely during deployments, making operations more efficient. But the cameras were only switched on when officers were on the ground to talk to those identified by the system and make any necessary arrests.
In total, there were 13 deployments during the trial, during which an arrest was made on average every 34 minutes.
The Met...