In an exclusive interview with The Times (£), the Metropolitan Police Director of Intelligence, Lindsey Chiswick, described the introduction of live facial recognition technology (LFT) as the biggest breakthrough for crime detection since DNA. Analysis by The Times (£) reveals that in the 62 times that LFT has been deployed it has resulted in 152 arrests. LFT is able to accurately scan people's faces who are wearing masks, and rates of false positives have been one in 40,000, better than the predicted one in 6,000. LFT has been a "game-changer", triggering an arrest every two hours of alleged criminals, including rapists, burglars and robbers, since its introduction last April. A Whitehall source said that the UK government is planning to make a policy statement in May or June setting out its facial recognition strategy. Government insiders are optimistic that the successful use of LFT will pave the way for its introduction across England and Wales, with hopes for its implementation at fixed cameras at railway stations.
In a statement digital rights group Big Brother Watch called LFT "a shiny distraction that puts the public's right to privacy and anonymity at huge risk."
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