Live Facial Recognition technology used by GMP for the first time

GMP have deployed its Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology for the first time this week – and Sale was the spot they chose.

Two vans were in Sale town centre yesterday (21 October), where officers were on hand to talk to and engage with members of the public.

No arrests were made and the vans will return to Sale on Thursday (23 October) for a further deployment.

Inspector Jon Middleton, who oversaw the Sale operation, said: “We deploy the LFR vans in areas where there is a policing reason – for example shoplifting or neighbourhood crime.

“It is important we are out and about speaking to people and engaging with the public, and that is exactly what we have been doing in Sale.

“People have generally been happy to see us and speak to us, and supportive of the way the technology is being used.

“We will gradually build up the number and frequency of the deployments, and in the coming weeks will be in Bolton, Wigan and Manchester city centre.”

The Home Office has supplied GMP with two LFR vans for use in areas where an operational need has been identified – not exclusively, but areas with crime issues and large footfall, as well as music and sporting events.

The cameras will focus on a specific area or crowd and detect faces compared to a pre-prepared watchlist, with an alert issued immediately if there is a match.