A live facial recognition (LFR) operation carried out by Hertfordshire Constabulary in a busy Hertfordshire town centre resulted in the arrest of four wanted individuals.

The deployment took place on Watford High Street on Friday 27 February, with police operating the technology between 10.18am and 2.45pm. Cameras were mounted on two police vans positioned along the High Street.

Live facial recognition technology compares faces captured by live camera feeds against a predetermined police watchlist in real time. If the system identifies a potential match, officers nearby receive an alert and can intervene.

During the operation, 56,232 faces were scanned, with no false alerts recorded. One alert led to the arrest of a 33-year-old man of no fixed abode, who was detained on suspicion of immigration offences and the cultivation of cannabis.

Three further arrests were made after officers noticed individuals attempting to evade the cameras while the system was in use.

These included:

• A 56-year-old man from Luton, arrested on suspicion of shoplifting offences.
• A 46-year-old man from Watford, arrested on suspicion of fraud and theft from a motor vehicle.
• A 31-year-old man of no fixed abode, arrested on suspicion of theft and possession of an offensive weapon.

Chief Inspector Chris Rutter said the technology had proved effective in helping officers identify people wanted by police.

He said: "Live Facial Recognition has been developed over a long period of time, and we are now confident in its ability to help us safeguard vulnerable people, including those who are missing, as well as individuals of interest.

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"We had some great involvement and engagement with the community in Watford. A number of members of the public came to speak to us and we had generally positive feedback from them; they loved what we are doing by utilising this technology to ultimately catch criminals and keep people safe.

"This deployment in Watford was very successful, with thousands of faces scanned and the presence of the technology helped us to make arrests of four wanted individuals.

"The arrests of these four men simply wouldn't have happened at that moment without this technology. It shows how tools like this can give us another way to keep our communities safe and ensure our town centres remain welcoming places for everyone."

Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards said the operation showed how technology could help prevent crime when used responsibly.

He said: "This is a clear example of technology being used responsibly by the constabulary to keep people safe across Hertfordshire.

"The successful deployment of Live Facial Recognition in Watford last week has helped officers identify offenders and prevent further harm, and it has been done with strict safeguards and transparency in place.

"The technology is being rolled out as business as usual for the constabulary and I fully support this. Used proportionally and lawfully, Live Facial Recognition is a powerful tool to catch criminals and keep our communities safe."

More information about the technology can be found on the Hertfordshire Constabulary website.

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