A six-month trial of live facial recognition at London railway stations cost British Transport Police (BTP) £320,786 and scanned more than 500,000 faces, but it produced just one alert from the police watchlist.
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it → cost → watchlist
That alert turned out to be a false identification, with no arrest resulting directly from the technology during the trial period.
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arrest → turn → period
The findings were reported by The Guardian, which reviewed a freedom of information document obtained by Liberty Investigates.
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which → report → Investigates
The trial ran between February and July 2026 and involved 18 deployments at some of London’s busiest transport hubs.
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trial → run → hubs
BTP has since extended the programme, raising fresh questions about cost, accuracy, privacy and whether live facial recognition is proportionate for use across a public transport network.
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recognition → extend → network
How the trial worked
Live facial recognition cameras compare faces passing through a particular location with images on a police watchlist.
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cameras → work → watchlist
The system is designed to identify people who may be wanted by the police or subject to court restrictions.
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who → design → restrictions
The cameras do not treat every person as a suspect.
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cameras → treat → suspect
According to former biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner Fraser Sampson, the system’s use depends on the composition of the watchlist and whether the people being sought are likely to appear at the chosen location and time.
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people → accord → location
During the London trial, cameras were deployed at railway stations between February and July.
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cameras → deploy → February
More than half a million faces were scanned during those operations, while officers and specialist equipment were positioned at 18 separate deployments.
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officers → scan → deployments
The trial was intended to explore whether the technology could help identify wanted offenders and people breaching court orders.
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technology → intend → orders
British Transport Police also said the system could support efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, particularly in transport environments where concerns about harassment and sexual offences can affect how people travel.
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people → say → harassment
The technology produced one alert against a person on the police watchlist.
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technology → produce → watchlist
Officers checked the result, but the individual was not the person sought.
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individual → check → result
The alert was therefore classified as a false positive.
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alert → classify → positive
No arrest resulted directly from an LFR alert during the six-month trial.
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arrest → result → trial
The equipment hire and police staffing costs came to £320,786, while officers spent almost 100 hours supporting the operations.
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officers → come → operations
BTP said officers made other arrests during the deployments, including arrests linked to assault, theft, possession of an offensive weapon, public order offences and breaches of criminal behaviour orders.
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officers → say → orders
Police also located individuals wanted by courts and other forces.
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Police → locate → courts
However, BTP acknowledged that these arrests did not result directly from facial recognition alerts.
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arrests → acknowledge → alerts
They were therefore excluded from the official LFR performance data.
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They → exclude → data
That distinction is important because it separates the general policing activity surrounding the trial from the results produced by the facial recognition system itself.
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it → separate → system
The wider deployments may have helped officers identify or respond to other incidents, but the technology generated one watchlist alert, and it was inaccurate.
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it → help → alert
Why police are continuing the programme
Despite the limited results, BTP extended the trial for an additional four months.
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BTP → continue → months
The extension expanded the deployments to include London Underground stations.
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extension → expand → stations
The force said the first phase helped it understand how the technology could be used most effectively in a railway environment.
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technology → say → environment
It also said procedures had been refined around deployment locations, equipment, watchlist construction and operational safeguards.
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procedures → say → locations
BTP reported that since the extension began, there had been three confirmed positive alerts.
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extension → report → ?
However, those individuals were later confirmed to be complying with sexual harm prevention orders or other court-imposed conditions.
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individuals → confirm → orders
A positive alert does not necessarily mean that someone has committed a new offence.
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someone → mean → offence
It indicates that the system has identified a person who appears to match an image on the watchlist.
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who → indicate → watchlist
Officers must then verify the person’s identity and determine what action, if any, is appropriate.
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action → verify → identity
The force said watchlist growth had been deliberately controlled.
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growth → say → ?
It began with a smaller list while staff worked to ensure data quality, governance and safeguarding arrangements were robust.
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arrangements → begin → list
Concerns about accuracy and proportionality
The trial has renewed debate over whether live facial recognition is appropriate for crowded public spaces.
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recognition → renew → spaces
Critics argue that members of the public are being scanned without individually consenting, even when they have done nothing wrong.
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they → argue → nothing
The technology also processes biometric information, which is considered sensitive personal data.
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which → process → information
The fact that one alert was incorrect during the trial has raised concerns about how false matches can affect people who are stopped, questioned or exposed to police intervention, as per the report.
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who → raise → report
A growing use of facial recognition
More than half of police forces in England and Wales have now used live facial recognition on public streets, according to an analysis by Liberty Investigates.
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half → grow → Investigates
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
