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UK Police Deploy Live Facial Recognition in Shopping Centres

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UK police forces have expanded their use of live facial recognition technology to major shopping centres across London, Manchester and Birmingham. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that cameras equipped with NEC NeoFace technology are now scanning shoppers in real-time, comparing faces against a watchlist of wanted individuals. Civil liberties groups including Liberty and Big Brother Watch have condemned the rollout, calling it a disproportionate invasion of privacy. Independent testing has shown the technology has a higher false positive rate for women and people of colour. The Home Office has allocated £50 million for further expansion, with plans to deploy in transport hubs by 2027. Shop workers report feeling surveilled by their own employers who have integrated the police feeds with store CCTV systems. Local councils were not consulted before deployment. The Information Commissioner has opened an investigation into whether adequate data protection impact assessments were carried out.

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Created: 4/8/2026, 10:31:26 AM

Updated: 4/8/2026, 12:55:40 PM

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