Home / Crime and Justice / Yorkshire Cops Deploy AI Face Scanners
Yorkshire Cops Deploy AI Face Scanners
2 Apr
Summary
- North Yorkshire Police will use live facial recognition cameras.
- The technology compares faces against an authorized watchlist.
- Police state the cameras will help protect vulnerable people and tackle serious crime.
North Yorkshire Police has announced its intention to implement live facial recognition (LFR) camera technology. This advanced system is designed to scan individuals' faces as they pass by and cross-reference them with an authorized police watchlist.
The stated purpose behind this initiative is to bolster efforts in safeguarding vulnerable members of the community and to more effectively address serious criminal activity. The force assures that deployments will occur in specific, intelligence-driven locations.
LFR functions by capturing biometric data, such as the distances between facial features, which is then compared to stored images of individuals on a police watchlist. Images not matching the watchlist are reportedly deleted instantly and permanently.
This technology has seen prior use in Yorkshire, with previous deployments in Leeds. However, its adoption has sparked debate, with critics raising concerns about potential privacy violations and the possibility of false matches, citing an instance where eight out of ten false alerts involved individuals of black ethnicity between September 2024 and September 2025.
