Three arrests by police using facial recognition

Three arrests were made after live facial recognition (LFR) was deployed in Cambridge for the first time.

The technology was used by Cambridgeshire Police on Friday, which said it had scanned 29,361 faces. Of those, police said four matches were made against a watchlist of 917 people.

Officers said three men were arrested during the six-hour operation, including a 63-year-old and a 39-year-old who were arrested for failing to appear in court.

The third, a 52-year-old man, was later charged with theft of a pedal cycle and theft by finding.

The system was used in Market Square and Sidney Street. The technology compares faces in real time with a watchlist of high-risk individuals.

Insp Sam Tucker, who oversaw the deployment, said: "This was an encouraging first deployment for Cambridge and demonstrated how the technology can help us locate wanted individuals and protect the public.

"Alongside the positive identifications, officers remained available to deal with incidents and provide reassurance in the city centre."

Police said images of people who did not match the database were permanently deleted straight away.

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