UK govt publishes $25M tender for live facial recognition

UK’s law enforcement agencies are seeking live facial recognition (LFR) suppliers in a new tender worth up to £20 million ($25.2 million).

Last week, the government issued a tender notice to establish a national multi-supplier framework for the technology. The facial recognition software will compare live camera feeds of faces against watchlists to locate persons of interest. The duration of the contract is 48 months.

The tender was published through BlueLight Commercial, a non-profit commercial consortium representing police and other emergency services which was established by the Home Office.

The UK government has been supporting police use of facial recognition to fight crime despite criticism from civil rights organizations and lawmakers. In April, for instance, former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a major £55.5 million (US$69.5 million) investment into the technology over the next four years.

The Labor government has promised to conduct a series of discussions on the use of LFR technology by police before the end of the year. While the potential of live facial recognition to make streets safer is clear, some have very legitimate concerns about it, UK Policing Minister Diana Johnston said during the launch of the discussions last month.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  government purchasing  |  police  |  real-time biometrics  |  tender  |  UK