London Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police announced they will resume deployments of live facial recognition surveillance based on a study published by The National Physical Laboratory last week, on 5 April.

‘Facial Recognition Technology in Law Enforcement’, the study commissioned by the Met and South Wales Police, tested the accuracy of the algorithm used by these police forces in terms of different demographics in operational conditions.

In measuring live surveillance, researchers used the default setting of Neoface software.

When checking against 10,000 reference images, one in 6,000 people were falsely matched and there was “no statistically significant race and gender bias,” according to a statement issued by the Met.

False matches rose to one in 60,000 when a watch list contained 1,000 images.

The facial recognition research report, published with support from Ingenium Biometrics and the University of Kent, backs police claims that facial recognition surveillance can protect human rights as it reduces and prevents crime.

The Met said in a statement: “We will use Facial Recognition Technology as a first, but significant, step towards precise community-based crime fighting.”

Lindsey Chiswick, Director of Intelligence for the Met said: “Live Facial Recognition technology is a precise community crime fighting tool.

“Led by intelligence, we place our effort where it is likely to have the greatest effect.

“It enables us to be more focused in our approach to tackle crime, including robbery and violence against women and girls.”

She added: “This is a significant report for policing, as it is the first time we have had independent scientific evidence to advise us on the accuracy and any demographic differences of our Facial Recognition Technology.”

South Wales Police Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan also affirmed the force’s commitment to the use of the technology:

“The study confirms that the way South Wales Police uses the technology does not discriminate on the grounds of gender, age or race and this reinforces my long-standing belief that the use of facial recognition technology is a force for good and will help us keep the public safe and assist us in identifying serious offenders in order to protect our communities from individuals who pose significant risks.”

Privacy advocates who have opposed its use, on the other hand, say nothing has changed in the danger to rights that innocent people will face just by walking a sidewalk.

(Source: Biometric Update)

(Image: Courtesy of Brookings Institution)