How London Became a Test Case for Using Facial Recognition in Democracies
The police hope the software can solve and prevent crime, but can citizens ever give their consent?
By Madhumita Murgia
On the last day of January, few of the shoppers and office workers who hurried through Romford town centre in east London, scarves pulled tight against the chill, realised they were guinea pigs in a police experiment.
The officers sitting inside a parked van nearby were watching them on screens, using a new technology that the police hope will radically reduce crime in London — live facial recognition. Cameras stationed near Romford train station picked up every face walking past, and matched it to a police watchlist of wanted criminals. Successful matches would result in immediate arrest.
For all the potential to fight crime, however, the trial quickly stumbled into the thorny issues that surround the technology. A bearded man in a blue baseball cap approached the surveilled area, with his grey jumper pulled up to cover his face. He had just been informed by a bystander that the police were testing facial recognition in the area and did not want to participate.
