John Dunne
Published December 4, 2025 12:01am
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So far facial recognition technology has been trialed in areas such as London and Leeds (Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
Police could see a boost in powers under facial recognition technology plans touted by the government as the ‘biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching’.
Facial recognition has been used to snare violent criminals and find missing people, but is yet to be used across national police forces.
But now the ‘biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching’ could be used across the UK, according to an announcement on Thursday by policing minister Sarah Jones.
Under the plans, there would be cameras dotted across the nation which can trigger an alert when they identify a suspect.
An image database with millions of people who are wanted or have convictions will be held centrally. A watchdog is also set to monitor the system, ensuring privacy laws and human rights are respected.
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In the last two years, the Metropolitan Police has made 1,300 arrests usingthe tech, including suspected violent criminals and domestic abusers. Sex offenders who have broken orders have also been apprehended.
It is hoped the tech will help police track down suspects across the UK (Picture: REUTERS)
The government hopes that the extension of the technology would also help to track down escaped prisoners and those mistakenly released.
Several such manhunts have been under intense public scrutiny recently. Justice Secretary David Lammy revealed on Tuesday that two prisoners who were accidentally released in the past three weeks are still on the run.
Lammy also told the House of Commons that 91 prisoners had been set free in error between April and October this year.
Live facial recognition cameras across the UK could help locate these inmates, those who drew up the consultation plan believe.
Following a series of trials in areas such as London, the government launched a public consultation on whether facial recognition cameras should become a tool in national policing.
Plans for official implementation will require tweaks to the law on the use of the technology. If the public give the green light, the scheme is set to take around two years to kick in.
What facial recognition technology do police forces currently use?
Police currently use three different types of facial recognition technology:
- Operator-initiated facial recognition: a mobile app that allows officers to check someone’s identity without having to arrest them and take them into custody.
- Retrospective facial recognition: used as part of a criminal investigation to search images from crime scenes (e.g. CCTV, mobile phone or video doorbell footage) against images of people taken on arrest.
- Live facial recognition: using live video footage of people passing cameras and comparing their images to a specific list of people wanted by the police.
The Crime and Policing Minister, Sarah Jones, said: ‘Facial recognition is the biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching.
‘It has already helped take thousands of dangerous criminals off our streets and has huge potential to strengthen how the police keep us safe.
‘We will expand its use so that forces can put more criminals behind bars and tackle crime in their communities.’
The national database for facial recognition can match images, often from custody pictures, with CCTV or doorbell footage obtained by police of suspects. Live cameras, sometimes mounted on vans, then give up to date alerts of where suspects are so that they can be apprehended.
Public consultation on the expansion will last 10 weeks, in which the government will seek to reassure the country that the benefits outweigh any privacy concerns.
The cost of extension is yet to be confirmed but it is hoped the technology will help reduce costs of some investigations where a suspect can be identified quickly saving a costly investigation.
The Home Office invested £12.6million in facial recognition last year, with £2.8million spent on national live facial recognition capabilities, including mobile vans and fixed-location pilots.
This year, £6.6million is supporting the adoption, evaluation and responsible rollout of facial recognition technology. Some £3.9million of this is going to developing a new, national facial matching service.
The Metropolitan Police reportedly made 1,300 arrests using facial recognition technology in the past two years (Picture: In Pictures via Getty Images)
Neil Basu, former head of counter terror policing said: ‘Live facial recognition is a massive step forward for law enforcement – a digital 21st century step change in the tradition of fingerprint and DNA technology.
‘Most crimes are committed by a few, often habitual criminals but they can’t avoid shops, malls, stadiums and transport hubs, all places where live facial recognition can be deployed to spot them and allow them to be brought to justice.
‘The live facial recognition system was, but no longer is, discriminatory but it will still require proper legal safeguards and oversight by the surveillance commissioner.
‘Every use has a police officer safety net, there to check that the identification is correct and prevent miscarriages of justice.’
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But the technology is not just for suspected criminals, as it can also be vital when trying to find missing people.
Susannah Drewery, from the charity Missing, said: ‘Facial recognition technology could help to ensure more missing people are found, protecting people from serious harm.
‘However, we need to better understand the ethical implications and what safeguards must be put in place for this technology to be used safely.
‘We welcome this consultation as an opportunity to explore these issues, and to make sure that people with lived experience of going missing or having a loved one missing get their say.’
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