New monitoring for UK offenders adds to growing police tech arsenal

The UK has announced the introduction of new algorithmic monitoring software to keep a closer eye on known offenders, as police forces continue to expand their use of live facial recognition.

A release from the Ministry of Justice says the plan will force offenders to answer to remote check-in surveillance on their own mobile devices. They will also have to record short videos of themselves, answer questions about their behavior and recent activities, and undergo AI identity verification.

Attempts to thwart the biometric matching or giving “concerning answers” will trigger a red alert with the Probation Service.

The pilot is being trialed in the South West, North West, East of England and Kent Surrey and Sussex, “before being considered for further rollout with additional tech add-ons.”

Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending Lord Timpson says “this new pilot keeps the watchful eye of our probation officers on these offenders wherever they are, helping catapult our analogue justice system into a new digital age. It’s bold ideas like this that are helping us tackle the challenges we face. We are protecting the public, supporting our staff, and making our streets safer as part of our Plan for Change.”

The Plan for Change is an 8 million pound (about 10.8 million dollar) initiative to “enhance criminal surveillance and deliver safer streets for communities blighted by prolific reoffending.” It beefs up existing security measures for reoffenders, such as GPS tags and in-person appointments with a probation officer.

Live facial recognition gets nod from Met commissioner

UK police continue to expand their use of facial recognition and other biometric technologies in law enforcement. A “proactive policing operation” deployed at the recent Notting Hill Carnival led to 528 arrests and “a reduction in serious violence,” according to a release from the Metropolitan Police. Of those, 61 arrests followed an identification using live facial recognition.

Robbery was reportedly down 70 percent, violence down 53 percent, and sexual offences down 8 percent across the two main days compared to 2024.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, the policing commander for Notting Hill Carnival this year, says “live facial recognition proved particularly successful, with the technology helping officers to identify almost 100 people of interest over two days who, without it, would likely have been able to go unnoticed in the busy crowds.”

Ward is not the only UK officer to publicly extol the value of live facial recognition of late. The BBC reports on fresh comments from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who calls the biometric technology a “game-changing tool” that has led to more than 700 arrests so far this year, 50 of which were registered sex offenders in breach of their conditions.

Sir Mark also attended the Notting Hill Carnival, where he spent time with officers on an LFR operation. “Every officer I spoke to was energized by the potential,” he says. “The first arrest happened within five minutes of going live, locating someone wanted on a prison recall since 2015.”

The commissioner says he has palms to further energize the force by deploying drones to police public safety. “From searching for missing people, to arriving quickly at serious traffic incidents, or replacing the expensive and noisy helicopter at large public events, done well, drones will be another tool to help officers make faster, more informed decisions on the ground.”

Public concern is rising in tandem with police enthusiasm for surveillance technology, as digital rights groups raise questions about the fairness of live facial recognition and other biometric tools. Eleven civil liberties and anti-racist advocacy groups wrote Rowley to object to the Notting Hill deployment.

However, they were apparently ineffective, and armed with numbers, UK police are unlikely to slow their rollout of live facial recognition. The latest force to confirm deployment is Bedfordshire, where police are set to launch live FRT in Bedford town center on September 19.

Article Topics

biometric monitoring  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  facial recognition  |  London Metropolitan Police  |  police