UK police will use facial recognition to stop violence in the wake of Southport stabbings

Following riots in the wake of the Southport stabbing attack, the UK government has announced a tougher stance against violent disorder, including the deployment of facial recognition.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Thursday that a new National Violent Disorder Programme will allow police authorities to share intelligence on the activity of violent groups.

“These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community and we must have a policing response that can do the same,” Starmer says. “Shared intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and preventive action – criminal behavior orders to restrict their movement before they can even board a train, in just the same way we do with football hooligans.”

The wider deployment of facial recognition will go alongside other measures to stop violence. The British Transport Police will alert for spikes in train ticket sales that could be linked to organized disorder.

“We look forward to working with government and receiving more details on the creation of a National Violent Disorder Programme and further work on tools such as Live Facial Recognition,” says Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

The move comes after widespread unrest that followed Monday’s attack on a children’s dance and yoga class in Southport, England in which three girls were killed and ten other people were injured – eight of who were children.

The attack has fueled a frenzy of online disinformation and far-right mobilization, resulting in rioters attacking the local mosque, setting cars on fire and damaging a convenience store. By Tuesday night, more than 50 police officers were injured and seven men were arrested.

Violence continued this week in Southport, London, Manchester and other cities. Police have named the far-right Islamophobic group English Defence League as a key instigator in many of the protests. Meanwhile, police in Merseyside, Southport have arrested a 17-year-old connected to the killings but noted that terrorism is not considered a motive at this stage.

The latest announcements of facial recognition deployment have already drawn criticism from civil rights groups. Big Brother Watch noted that Prime Minister Starmer has failed to address the causes of the violence and that promises of introducing “ineffective AI surveillance” were “tone deaf.”

“The Prime Minister’s alarming pledge today to roll out facial recognition in an apparent response to recent disorder is a pledge to plunder more vital police resources on mass surveillance that threatens rather than protects democracy,” says the digital rights group’s Director Silkie Carlo.

More protests have been announced in the next days with anti-racist campaign groups pledging to organize counter-demonstrations.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  facial recognition  |  police  |  real-time biometrics  |  UK