The Metropolitan Police Service has confirmed that it will begin using the controversial live facial recognition (LFR) technology.

It said that the NEC-provided tech will be deployed to specific locations in London, determined by police intelligence, as part of efforts to tackle serious crime.

Each deployment will come from a watch list of images of wanted individuals – predominantly people wanted for violent offences.

A statement explained that cameras will be focused on a small, targeted area to scan passers-by and will be clearly signposted with officers handing out leaflets about the activity. The technology will also not be linked to any other imaging system.

The Met’s assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave said: “As a modern police force, I believe that we have a duty to use new technologies to keep people safe in London – independent research has shown that the public support us in this regard.

“We are using a tried-and-tested technology and have taken a considered and transparent approach in order to arrive at this point,” he continued. “Similar technology is already widely used across the UK, in the private sector; ours has been trialled by our technology teams for use in an operational policing environment.”

The use of LFR in policing has been criticised by civil liberties groups, with South Wales Police last year subject to a legal challenge from Liberty, which it successfully defended.

Biometrics commissioner Paul Wiles described the move as a “step change”, moving LFR from trial to operational use, but added that it would be difficult to comment on any deployment until more details are available.

He pointed out that the South Wales Police case did not necessarily provide a mandate for a Met Police deployment, as it was specific to that geographical use and is also being appealed.

"The Metropolitan Police will need to pay attention to those circumstances [relevant to the Human Rights Act and data protection legislation] to which the court drew attention," he noted.

The Information Commissioner’s Office called for a statutory code for its use by the police, after also investigating the use of live facial recognition technology in the King’s Cross area.

However, the Home Office has declared its support for trials.

Last October, Freedom of Information (FoI) requests found that Kent and West Midlands police forces were pushing back against government testing of facial recognition systems.

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