London, February 13 The British Transport Police (BTP) have launched a trial of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology to be deployed across the country's railway stations as part of a six-month pilot programme.
The LFR trial began at London Bridge railway station on Wednesday, followed by London Waterloo station on Friday, with further dates and locations of the deployment of the new technology to be published online in advance.
The scheme involves cameras automatically scanning faces to compare with a database of serious offenders, a technology being adopted by a growing number of police forces across the UK despite some privacy concerns.
"I want to reiterate that this is a trial of the technology to assess how it performs in a railway setting," said Chief Superintendent Chris Casey, BTP’s senior officer overseeing the project.
"The initiative follows a significant amount of research and planning, and forms part of BTP's commitment to using innovative technology to make the railways a hostile place for individuals wanted for serious criminal offences, helping us keep the public safe."
"The cameras work by scanning faces and comparing them to a watchlist of offenders wanted for serious offences. If there's a match, then the system generates an alert. An officer will review it and carry out further checks to determine if the person is a suspect and if they need to take further action," he said.
Tony Kounnis, CEO of tech firm Face Int UK and Europe, said that facial recognition technology (FRT) can help prevent crime by identifying criminals, but he raised concerns about accuracy.
"These concerns cannot and should not be ignored. Without proper oversight around the efficacy of the technology being used, as well as the ways people's biometric data is then being analysed and stored, then we’ll be sleepwalking into a potential crisis," said Kounnis.
"For all its potential, FRT can also do damage if it’s not deployed responsibly and with accuracy and privacy at its core, so for all the good news about how it's being used, both the developers and users of FRT must address people's concerns with transparency and rigour," he said.
The BTP has said that it is striking a balance for the purpose of its LFR pilot project, the results of which would determine wider deployment of the tech in future.
"People who prefer not to enter the recognition zone will have alternative routes available and images of anyone not on the authorised database will be deleted immediately and permanently," said BTP’s Chris Casey.
The BTP's pilot scheme will also offer members of the public the option to scan QR codes on the posters to express their views and provide feedback. The force in charge of the UK's transport network safety said its LFR deployments will be "intelligence-led" to target crime hotspots where data shows a likelihood of "high harm offenders" passing through a particular location.
"We will always explain why we have chosen to speak with someone and give them an informational leaflet with contact details if they have further questions. People who are not included on a watchlist cannot be identified," the BTP said in a statement.
The force has identified NEC’s NeoFace M40 algorithm facial recognition technology as being used for its trial.