Over 170 people have been arrested as part of a trial into facial recognition cameras in south London, including a woman who was wanted for over two decades.
In total 173 suspects were arrested for crimes including kidnap, rape and serious sexual assault during the pilot in Croydon, during which static cameras rather than vans were used for the first time.
The Metropolitan Police said crime in the area reduced by 10.5 per cent during the trial, which took place between October 2025 and March 2026, including a 21 per cent reduction in violence against women and girls.
The static cameras, placed on Croydon High Street, were used in 24 operations, with arrests including a 36-year-old woman who was wanted for failing to appear at court for an assault in 2004.
A 31-year-old man who was wanted for voyeurism for more than six months was also arrested.
Meanwhile, a 41-year-old man who was wanted in connection with a rape in November in Croydon.
National and Met lead for live facial recognition Lindsey Chiswick said: "These results show why live facial recognition is such a powerful tool when it’s used carefully, openly and in the right places.
"Crime in this area is down by more than 10 per cent, and the public can see the difference."
The facial recognition camera has been deployed in Croydon (file pic)
|PA
She continued: "This technology is helping us find people wanted by the courts, identify serious offenders quickly and focus our resources where they make the biggest impact, all with exceptional accuracy.
"We will continue using static cameras in Croydon as part of our regular live facial recognition deployments which play a vital part in keeping London safe."
More than 470,000 people walked past the camera during the pilot, which saw one false alert for which the person was spoken to by officers and then allowed to leave.
Former Scotland Yard Detective Peter Bleksley defended the rollout, assuring worried Londoners facial recognition cameras will only detect "wanted criminals".
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Peter Bleksley praised the pilot scheme
| GB NewsMr Bleksley told GB News: "Some people are wanted because they lied their way into this country, and it is later discovered that they are wanted for very serious crimes in their home countries.
"Some people are wanted for breaching community orders, and the list goes on and on and on. It is only wanted people who are identified by facial recognition cameras."
The ex-detective assured viewers a facial recognition camera will only be "triggered" when it detects a face already in the police's database.
He explained: "There is a database of wanted felons, criminals, scoundrels, fugitives, so when a facial recognition camera is in operation, it may scan thousands upon thousands of faces.
"But it only triggers when it recognises one of those faces from the wanted list. Anybody else's face that is on that camera is instantly deleted if they are not a wanted person."
The scheme has been rolled out in Croydon
| GETTYIpsos polling from February found nearly two thirds of Britons (64 per cent) support the plans to fund new vans across town centres.
Over half (54 per cent) say they would feel safer if the vans were deployed on their local high street, while 29 per cent think they will make no difference.
Just over one in 10 (13 per cent) say the vans would make them feel less safe.
According to the poll, 53 per cent said they are willing to accept a loss of personal privacy in public spaces if it helps the police catch more criminals, while 24 per cent say protecting the privacy of ordinary citizens is more important.