Met Police Snare 12 Criminals Using Live Facial Recognition in London
The Met is cracking down hard on London’s criminal underworld with the help of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology. On Tuesday, officers arrested 12 suspects across multiple locations, targeting violent and sexual offenders, thieves, and dangerous weapon carriers.
Early Morning Arrest Uncovers Disturbing Crimes
In the early hours on Tuesday, cops nabbed a man in Clapham who had breached his sexual harm prevention order. Further probes revealed he had been sending explicit images to children. He now faces two counts of sexual communication with a child and remains in custody.
11 More Busted in Sutton and Woolwich Raids
Later the same day, 11 suspects were arrested during deployments in Sutton and Woolwich. Among them:
- A man caught carrying a knife and wanted for possession of an offensive weapon and breach of tag.
- A crook wanted for burglary, robbery, theft, and failing to follow a supervision order.
- A suspect on the run for stealing £37,000.
- A registered sex offender arrested for breaking his sexual harm prevention order.
- A woman charged with malicious communications.
- A man nabbed for theft and possession of an offensive weapon.
- Suspects wanted for burglary, theft, threatening behaviour, and criminal damage.
Watchlists and Public Support Back Tech
Each LFR deployment uses a bespoke watchlist focusing on wanted individuals or those under court-imposed conditions. Lindsey Chiswick, Met’s Director of Intelligence, stated:
“The public are mostly supportive of this technology, which we hear directly when engaging with Londoners at deployments. It’s vital to bring communities along with us, so we work with independent advisory groups and invite them to witness operations.”
Chiswick also assured the public about data security, saying all non-matching biometric data is deleted within a second and cannot be accessed by police.
To learn more about Live Facial Recognition technology and its role in keeping London safe, click here.
