Mayor should gauge London Boroughs’ support for Live Facial Recognition

Live Facial Recognition (LFR) has become an important tool in helping the Metropolitan Police identify wanted offenders, protect vulnerable people and prevent crime.

However, LFR has been subject to significant scrutiny.

The London Assembly has today stated its support for LFR, when deployed lawfully and transparently, and has called on the Mayor and the Met Commissioner to write to all London borough councils to reassure them on the advancement of LFR technology and to ask them to confirm whether they support its deployment in their areas.

Emma Best AM, who proposed the motion, said:

"Live Facial Recognition has the potential to transform policing and improve detection rates at a time when frontline policing is stretched to capacity.

“We should be supporting technological developments that keep us safe, and I am pleased the Assembly has supported my call for the Mayor and the Met to advance the use of this technology in partnership with London boroughs."

The full text of the motion is:

“This Assembly believes that Live Facial Recognition (LFR) has become an important tool in helping the Metropolitan Police identify wanted offenders, protect vulnerable people and prevent crime. 

This Assembly notes that the use of LFR has been subject to significant scrutiny, and welcomes the High Court's recent confirmation that the Metropolitan Police's LFR policy complies with human rights law. 

This Assembly further notes that LFR has already led to more than 2,100 arrests in London, and is increasingly incredibly accurate – with more than three million faces walking past the cameras in 2025, resulting in just 12 false alerts and no false arrests.

We recognise that many Londoners have legitimate concerns about the use of this technology, and we acknowledge that a number of misconceptions about LFR remain. It is important to note that following the Court of Appeal’s judgment in R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has not only acted on the court’s recommendations but has gone beyond them. 

Robust and tightly controlled safeguards are now in place to regulate how this technology is used. While we recognise that policing practices must continue to evolve and improve, we welcome the steps taken so far. We also encourage the MPS to maintain ongoing engagement with Londoners to build understanding, address concerns, and ensure public confidence in the use of LFR is maintained.  

This Assembly believes that LFR, when deployed lawfully and transparently, can play an important role in policing and public protection, and supports the continued use of this technology by the Metropolitan Police. To that end, this Assembly requests that the Mayor and Commissioner write to all London borough councils to reassure them on the advancement of LFR technology and to ask them to confirm whether they support its deployment in their areas.”

The meeting can be viewed via webcast or YouTube.

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