Facial Recognition and Al to Be Rolled Out Nationwide in England and Wales Under Major Policing Shake-Up

By Catch a Thief UK News Desk

Police forces across England and Wales are set to undergo one of the most significant technological transformations in modern history, as the government confirms a nationwide rollout of facial recognition and artificial intelligence tools as part of a sweeping overhaul of policing.

Image: Catch a Thief UK

Ministers describe the plans as essential to tackling serious crime, reducing backlogs, and modernising overstretched forces. Critics, however, warn the measures risk ushering in an era of mass surveillance with insufficient safeguards.

What Is Being Introduced?

At the centre of the reforms is the expansion of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology, which allows police to scan faces in real time in public places and compare them against watchlists of wanted suspects, missing persons, or individuals of interest.

Until now, LFR has been used primarily by a small number of forces, most notably the Metropolitan Police, often via mobile camera vans deployed at large events or crime hotspots. Under the new plans, every police force in England and Wales will have access to the technology, with the number of mobile facial recognition units expected to increase significantly.

Alongside this, forces will be given access to a new suite of AI-powered tools, including:

Automated analysis of CCTV, doorbell and body-worn camera footage

AI systems to assist with digital forensics and evidence review

Predictive analytics to identify crime patterns and resource demand

AI chat systems to handle non-emergency public enquiries

A new national police AI centre is also expected to be established to coordinate technology use, standards, and training across forces.

Why the Government Says It’s Necessary

The Home Office argues that policing is struggling to keep pace with the scale and complexity of modern crime, particularly online offences, organised criminal networks, and high-volume investigations involving digital evidence.

Officials claim AI could save millions of officer hours each year, freeing police from desk-based work and allowing them to focus on frontline duties. Facial recognition, they say, has already helped identify serious offenders and locate missing people more quickly than traditional methods.

Ministers have framed the reforms as part of the largest police transformation in decades, designed to ensure forces are fit for a digital age.

How Facial Recognition Works

Live facial recognition systems capture images of faces in real time using cameras positioned in public spaces. These images are instantly converted into biometric data and compared against a predefined watchlist.

If a potential match is detected above a set confidence threshold, officers are alerted and decide whether further action is required. Police stress that a human officer always makes the final decision, not the algorithm.

Police also use retrospective facial recognition, which analyses previously recorded footage during investigations rather than scanning the public live.

Civil Liberties and Privacy Concerns

Despite assurances from the government, civil liberties groups have raised serious concerns about the scale and speed of the rollout.

Campaigners argue that facial recognition amounts to biometric surveillance of innocent members of the public, many of whom have no knowledge they are being scanned. There are also fears that widespread use could normalise constant monitoring in everyday life.

Concerns have also been raised about accuracy and bias, with previous studies suggesting facial recognition systems may be more prone to false matches involving people from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Legal experts point out that the UK still lacks a single, dedicated law governing facial recognition, relying instead on a patchwork of existing data protection and human rights legislation.

Public Consultation and Oversight

In response to mounting criticism, the government has launched a public consultation on how biometric and facial recognition technologies should be regulated in the future.

Key questions include:

When and where facial recognition should be allowed

How long biometric data should be retained

What independent oversight should be in place

How the public can challenge misuse or errors

Police leaders have insisted that deployment will remain intelligence-led, proportionate, and subject to strict internal authorisation processes.

What Happens Next?

The rollout is expected to take place in stages over the coming years, with funding allocated for new equipment, training, and national infrastructure.

As AI and facial recognition become embedded in everyday policing, the debate is likely to intensify over where the balance should lie between public safety, efficiency, and personal privacy.

For now, one thing is clear: policing in England and Wales is entering a new technological era, and the public will be watching closely.

Catch a Thief UK News