The government intends to roll out facial recognition in police officers’ body-worn cameras as part of its efforts to increase the technology’s nationwide use by all forces.
The policing minister, Chris Philp, outlined his plan to double the use of technology in The Daily Telegraph. His goal is to help arrest more criminals, including murders, terrorists, and football hooligans.
Over the next three years, the Government has allocated £17.5 million to construct a “highly accurate” technology that will allow authorities to take real-time photos of people and crowds and match them to suspect watch lists.
The goal is to expand it to include body-worn cameras, which are a requirement for all officers to use and wear while out on the streets.
Mr. Philp stated, “In the future, subject to appropriate governance and safeguards, officer-initiated facial recognition to check the identities of people of interest encountered on the streets in near real time will also be possible.”
He claimed in his post that a great deal of criminals, including murders, sexual offenders, and robbers, had previously been apprehended thanks to AI facial recognition technology.
“Face recognition on CCTV images, including on a bus, allowed for the arrest of one man who attacked a woman in less than 48 hours,” he said.
“The use of facial recognition software on public images led to the solving of a nightclub murder.” Additionally, merchants are urged to give the police CCTV footage of the entire occurrence as well as an image of the shoplifter in order to combat theft.
“I want to see police use this technology to double the number of searches they conduct by early summer of next year because of these successes.”
The police can identify individuals in crowds using live facial recognition technology, which is not possible with the naked eye. It has contributed to people’s safety during the British Grand Prix, concerts, and the Coronation.
Studies conducted by the Metropolitan Police and the South Wales Police had demonstrated that its application was now quite accurate and applied equitably to individuals from all backgrounds. Guidelines specified when and how troops could employ live facial recognition, along with the prompt deletion of any image that did not match a watch list.
The biometric and surveillance commissioner, Professor Fraser Sampson, stated that facial recognition technology may be very helpful in the battle against crime. “The platform becomes irrelevant, whether it’s a drone or a body worn video,” the speaker stated.
“It’s important that people are aware of how, when, and where technology is being used, as well as that it’s regularly evaluated to see if there have been any negative effects and whether users are comfortable with it,” he stated.
Using crime fighting as a positive force
From Chris Philp
This week, we’ll demonstrate how the UK is setting the standard for using AI technology to remain one step ahead of thieves. Technology has the power to completely change the way we combat crime.
These tools, which range from sophisticated CCTV to fingerprint and DNA testing technologies, have helped the police maintain community safety. Artificial Intelligence is the upcoming field that holds immense promise, which we are already starting to realise.
It makes complete sense that concerns about artificial intelligence should exist among individuals. Some people fear that there is nothing they can do to stop the real world from advancing too quickly and too far. Undoubtedly, we need to carefully consider the effects of using advanced technology, since it lacks the same moral agency as humans.
However, that is not the entire tale. It’s important to acknowledge the positive aspects of artificial intelligence. Being neither blatantly hostile nor casually indifferent to AI is the correct course of action. Rather, we ought to make it work for us.
I’m curious in what AI can accomplish for law enforcement as a minister of police. The good news is that technology can free up police time so that more officers can be on the beat, help investigations, reduce crime, and safeguard the public.
To prevent child sex abuse, the government has made significant investments in AI systems. One such tool is one that enables police officers to more quickly recognise and classify content related to child sexual abuse. This will facilitate the removal of this filth, the pursuit of the offenders, and the identification of youngsters in need of protection.
The awful reality is that there is an abundance of this kind of content on the internet, and filtering it all out calls for highly advanced technology. The brave police officers who do this essential but extremely upsetting task will also benefit from not having to deal with such extended exposure to offensive photos.
AI-powered facial recognition technology is becoming more widely used. Perhaps you use it for online banking or to access your smartphone. For many years, images have been compared to the Police National Database using retrospective facial recognition.
A murder at a nightclub was solved.
The use of facial recognition on CCTV footage, including photographs taken on a bus, allowed for the arrest of one man who had attacked a woman in less than 48 hours. Because facial recognition software was used on public photographs, a nightclub murder was solved.
Additionally, merchants are urged to give the police CCTV footage of the entire occurrence as well as an image of the shoplifter in order to combat theft.
I want to see cops use this technology to conduct twice as many searches by the early summer of next year because of these successes.
Authorities may identify individuals in crowds using live facial recognition technology, which is not possible with the naked eye. It has contributed to people’s safety at the British Grand Prix, concerts, and the Coronation.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council and I are collaborating to find the best ways to guarantee trust, transparency, and uniformity among all law enforcement agencies. The Met and South Wales Police are the two police departments spearheading the use of facial recognition technology. The two forces commissioned an independent investigation in 2021 to determine whether its application treats persons of all backgrounds fairly. It was discovered that the technology has advanced significantly and is now very accurate.
In the situations tested, there were no statistically significant variations in its performance by gender or ethnicity. Police departments can utilise live face recognition technology in accordance with guidelines that specify when and how to do so. Crucially, data must be erased right away if it does not match a watch list.
Artificial Intelligence has both positive and negative aspects. However, that holds true for every media, including books, pamphlets, radio, television, and the internet. It is important that we utilise technology wisely and for the good of people, and that artificial intelligence is always under human supervision. In the research and proper application of AI, which is already greatly assisting in maintaining public safety, the UK can take the lead globally.