{"id":889144,"date":"2026-01-31T18:12:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T00:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/31\/metropolitan-police-needs-effective-constraints-on-live-facial-recognition-use-court-hears\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T18:12:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T00:12:49","slug":"metropolitan-police-needs-effective-constraints-on-live-facial-recognition-use-court-hears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/31\/metropolitan-police-needs-effective-constraints-on-live-facial-recognition-use-court-hears\/","title":{"rendered":"Metropolitan Police needs effective constraints on live facial recognition use, court hears"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"content-header\">\n<h2>The Metropolitan Police has defended its use of live facial recognition against a legal challenge that claims there are no effective constraints on where it can deploy the technology<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-center\">\n<ul>\n<li><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i data-icon=\"2\"><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"contributors-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"Sebastian Klovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/contributor\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton\">Sebastian Klovig Skelton,<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Data &#038; ethics editor<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tPublished: <span>29 Jan 2026 16:45<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"content-body\">\n<p>There is virtually nothing in the Metropolitan Police policy to constrain where it deploys <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/feature\/How-police-live-facial-recognition-subtly-reconfigures-suspicion\">live facial recognition<\/a> (LFR), the High Court has heard during a judicial review into whether the force is using the technology lawfully.<\/p>\n<p>Brought by anti-knife campaigner Shaun Thompson, who was wrongfully identified by the Met\u2019s system and subjected to a prolonged stop as a result, and privacy group Big Brother Watch, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366637602\/Landmark-legal-challenge-against-police-facial-recognition-begins\">legal challenge<\/a> revolved around whether there are meaningful safeguards in place to effectively constrain how the Met uses the technology.<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of the two-day hearing, held at the Royal Courts of Justice, lawyers for Thompson and Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo argued that the Met\u2019s use of LFR does not satisfy legality tests, because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.met.police.uk\/SysSiteAssets\/media\/downloads\/force-content\/met\/advice\/lfr\/policy-documents\/lfr-policy-document2.pdf\">the policy dictating how officers choose to deploy<\/a> it is overly broad, opening the technology to arbitrary use.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, they stressed their view that, in practice, the policy essentially allows the Met to deploy the technology in any part of London they choose, because the only criteria limiting where the Met can deploy it is whether it\u2019s a \u201cpermitted location\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The three situations where the Met can use LFR are in \u201ccrime hotspots\u201d, including \u201caccess routes\u201d to those hotspots; outside public events or critical national infrastructure under \u201cprotective security operations\u201d; and locations based on intelligence about \u201cthe likely location [of] \u2026 sought persons\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Noting that the force regularly uses watchlists with 16,000 to 17,000 images, they added that there is no real connection between the \u201cwho\u201d and \u201cwhere\u201d when deploying in practice, which risks people being put on watchlists on the chance they will pass an LFR camera.<\/p>\n<p>They also added that of the three use cases under which the Met can deploy LFR, the crime hotspot approach is used in the vast majority of deployments, whereas the other two use cases have only been relied on a handful of times.<\/p>\n<section data-menu-title=\"\u2018Permitted locations\u2019\">\n<h2><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i>\u2018Permitted locations\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Based on their reading of the Met\u2019s LFR policy and its deployment patterns, the lawyers contended that the only thing in practice constraining choice is whether the deployment area is a \u201cpermitted location\u201d, and that the force relies on the hotspot use case because it essentially allows them to drop the technology where they please.<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting how vast swathes of London are designated as \u201ccrime hotspots\u201d by the force \u2013 and the fact that the Met has conducted multiple deployments on the same day, using the same watchlists, but in completely different hotspot locations \u2013 they argued this means there is very little link between the \u201cwho\u201d and \u201cwhere\u201d questions of LFR\u2019s use.<\/p>\n<p>Other issues raised by Thompson and Carlo\u2019s lawyers include the broad definition of \u201cserious crime\u201d used in this context &#8211; which is whether the alleged offence would lead to prison for a year or more, a criteria they said does not appear in any other police or government definition of serious crime; how the mass scale of LFR\u2019s use and its automated nature elevates the level of intrusion; and how the Met has chosen to frame the \u201cwhy\u201d criteria of the deployment.<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting how the Met essentially frames the \u201cwhy\u201d of LFR as \u201clocating sought persons\u201d, the lawyers argued this is not a constraint on the technology, and simply a description of how it works.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-menu-title=\"Police arguments\">\n<h2><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i>Police arguments<\/h2>\n<p>Police lawyers, however, contended that Thompson and Carlo\u2019s challenge is a \u201cproportionality claim dressed up as a legality claim\u201d, and that there are a number of protections against police using LFR arbitrarily.<\/p>\n<p>For example, they noted the LFR policy \u201cleaves no room for capricious decision-making\u201d because it contains specific use cases on when LFR can be deployed; requires officers to create written justifications for their decisions that are then authorised by another, more senior officer; does not allow officers to dictate what counts as a hotspot; and compels them to conduct a deployment-specific analysis against rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, they argued that these and other measures taken together means policy sets a roadmap that means officers\u2019 discretion is sufficiently limited, and that it creates an \u201cadministrative environment\u201d in which the rules of the policy become inescapable.<\/p>\n<p>Met lawyers also argued that the claimant\u2019s case was a full-scale attack on overt LFR by the police, and that if the court sided in their favour, it would \u201csubstantially\u201d hinder the force\u2019s ability to use the technology effectively.<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting how the \u201cprimary value\u201d of LFR is to find people whose location is currently unknown to the police, Met lawyers added that confining the force\u2019s deployment to \u201cuse case C\u201d \u2013 under which LFR can be used at \u201ca particular location where the [Met] has concluded, based on specific intelligence, that a person who is eligible for inclusion on a LFR Watchlist \u2026 is likely to be at that location\u201d \u2013 would effectively \u201cneuter the value of the technology to policing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The judges \u2013 Lord Justice Holgate and Mrs Justice Farbey \u2013 will now deliberate on the arguments put forward, with a judgement handed down at a later date.<\/p>\n<p>A day before the judicial review hearing started, home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to substantially expand the use of facial recognition by police forces across England and Wales, despite there being an ongoing consultation about a new legal framework for the technology.<\/p>\n<p>While the use of LFR by police \u2013 beginning with the Met\u2019s deployment at Notting Hill Carnival in August 2016 \u2013 has already\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252523634\/Met-Police-ramp-up-facial-recognition-despite-ongoing-concerns\">ramped up massively in recent years<\/a>, there has so far been\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366615579\/MPs-hold-first-ever-debate-on-live-facial-recognition\">minimal public debate<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366616894\/Met-Police-challenged-on-claim-LFR-supported-by-majority-of-Lewisham-residents\">consultation<\/a>, with the Home Office claiming for years that there is already \u201ccomprehensive\u201d legal framework in place.<\/p>\n<p>However, in December 2025,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366635529\/Home-Office-launches-police-facial-recognition-consultation\">the Home Office launched a 10-week consultation on the use of LFR by UK police<\/a>, allowing interested parties and members of the public to share their views on how the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/feature\/UK-police-facial-recognition-what-you-need-to-know\">controversial technology<\/a>\u00a0should be regulated.<\/p>\n<p>The department has said that although a \u201cpatchwork\u201d legal framework for police facial recognition exists (including for the increasing use of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252507569\/Met-Police-purchase-new-retrospective-facial-recognition-system\">retrospective<\/a>\u00a0and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366560813\/UK-police-plan-national-roll-out-of-facial-recognition-phone-app\">operator-initiated<\/a>\u201d versions of the technology),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366627654\/UK-to-create-governance-framework-for-police-facial-recognition\">it does not give police themselves the confidence<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cuse it at significantly greater scale \u2026 nor does it consistently give the public the confidence that it will be used responsibly\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>It added that the current rules governing police LFR use are \u201ccomplicated and difficult to understand\u201d, and that an ordinary member of the public would be required to read four pieces of legislation, police national guidance documents and a range of detailed legal or data protection documents from individual forces to fully understand the basis for LFR use on their high streets.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"DigDeeperSplash\">\n<h4>\n\t\t\t<i data-icon=\"m\"><\/i>Read more on Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366637602\/Landmark-legal-challenge-against-police-facial-recognition-begins\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/facial-recognition-tracking-greenbutterfly-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/facial-recognition-tracking-greenbutterfly-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/facial-recognition-tracking-greenbutterfly-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Landmark legal challenge against police facial recognition begins<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"SebastianKlovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Sebastian\u00a0Klovig Skelton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366637351\/Met-claims-success-for-permanent-facial-recognition-in-Croydon\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/Met-Police-lamppost-Savo-Ilic-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/Met-Police-lamppost-Savo-Ilic-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/Met-Police-lamppost-Savo-Ilic-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Met claims success for permanent facial recognition in Croydon<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"SebastianKlovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Sebastian\u00a0Klovig Skelton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366636337\/Top-10-police-technology-stories-of-2025\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/surveillance-CCTV-facial-recognition-AlinStock-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/surveillance-CCTV-facial-recognition-AlinStock-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/surveillance-CCTV-facial-recognition-AlinStock-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Top 10 police technology stories of 2025<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"SebastianKlovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Sebastian\u00a0Klovig Skelton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/feature\/How-police-live-facial-recognition-subtly-reconfigures-suspicion\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/surveillance-CCTV-facial-recognition-Alexander-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/surveillance-CCTV-facial-recognition-Alexander-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/HeroImages\/surveillance-CCTV-facial-recognition-Alexander-adobe.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>How police live facial recognition subtly reconfigures suspicion<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Sebastian-Klovig-Skelton-CW-contributor.jpg\" alt=\"SebastianKlovig Skelton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Sebastian\u00a0Klovig Skelton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366637860\/Metropolitan-Police-needs-effective-constraints-on-live-facial-recognition-use-court-hears\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Buffy Grumbles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Metropolitan Police has defended its use of live facial recognition against a legal challenge that claims there are no effective constraints on where it can deploy the technology By Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data &amp; ethics editor Published: 29 Jan 2026 16:45 There is virtually nothing in the Metropolitan Police policy to constrain where it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":889145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33765,294,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-889144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-metropolitan","8":"category-police","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}