Police to use live facial recognition at horse fair
BBCA police force will use live facial recognition (LFR) technology at an annual horse fair.
Cumbria Police said it will deploy the technology at Appleby Horse Fair in June.
Det Supt Dan St Quintin said the event, which brings thousands of people from the travelling community to the small Cumbrian town, was the force's largest operation each year and the use of LFR would help make the event as safe as possible.
"We can identify the troublemakers and prevent them from committing crime [and] causing trouble so that the vast majority of people can enjoy the fair and feel safe," he said.
St Quintin said the move follows the force seeking public comments last year about the use of LFR to police the fair. He said the "overwhelming majority" had backed the technology.
Most people scanned by the system would have their images deleted in less than a second, said St Quintin.
But those put on a specific watchlist, including those considered vulnerable, would be flagged by the system so that a police officer can intervene, he said.
St Quintin said the force would only use the technology at large-scale events where it was "proportionate and necessary".
It will be the second time that Cumbria Police will use the technology.
In March, it was used at a Carlisle United match where the faces of more than 6,000 people were scanned.
The force said the system made three accurate matches with none leading to arrests. It also said the system made no false alerts.
It follows privacy campaigners losing a High Court challenge aimed at limiting the Metropolitan Police's use of the technology.
As of March, the technology is used by 13 out of 43 police forces in England and Wales.
