00:00British Transport Police has launched a six-month trial of live facial recognition technology
00:07at a number of busy London rail stations, bringing the initiative directly into the
00:12capital's day-to-day transport network. Now the live facial recognition cameras scan faces in
00:19real time and compare them against a watch list of individuals wanted for serious offences.
00:26Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has spoken in favour of live facial recognition technology and
00:33highlighted the success shown by the Metropolitan Police. Criminals are operating in increasingly
00:38sophisticated ways but in policing, in all honesty, our response is mixed. While some forces surge ahead
00:46with the results to show for it, others are fighting crime in a digital age with analogue methods. We
00:53will ensure that every force is adopting the latest technology led out of the new National
00:59Police Service. This will include the largest ever rollout of live facial recognition technologies
01:05across England and Wales. We know this approach works. In London, in just two years, the Metropolitan
01:13Police have made 1,700 arrests, taking robbers, domestic abusers and rapists off our streets.
01:20When the future arrives, there are always doubters. A hundred years ago, fingerprinting was decried
01:27as curtailing our civil liberties. But today, we could not imagine policing without it.
01:33The technology scans facial features and checks them against police watch lists. According to
01:40The Met, a third of those arrested were wanted for offences against women and girls, including
01:46serious crimes such as strangulation and sexual offences as well. But how would the Londoners
01:52feel about facial recognition here in the capital?
01:57I think there can be good sides and bad sides. One of the bad sides is that the facial recognition
02:03is not always accurate, so they can accidentally pin a crime on the wrong person. And then they
02:09could say, that's not me. And then they're showing video proof and then they're insisting it's them.
02:13So in that case, some people could be taken to jail for the wrong crimes. But on the plus side
02:19as well, like if people fear that they're being monitored, maybe they won't commit as many crimes.
02:24So it's about finding the right balance and making sure that it's ethical as well.
02:30Well, obviously, crime going down is a good thing. But I think the problem with facial recognition
02:35is, you know, we are seeing other countries slipping more and more into authoritarian regimes. And yeah,
02:47it's, you know, so far, you know, it's okay. But as we slip more and more into authoritarianism,
02:54then we're, you know, with this facial recognition technology, we could be in big trouble.
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