London Bridge is set to get Live Facial Recognition as part of a new trial by the British Transport Police

Big Brother just got an upgrade

Hermione Blandford's avatar
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Commuters walk inside London Bridge railway station in London, UK, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.
(Image credit: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It often feels like you’re always being watched these days, between the development of technology and the sheer volume of crime dramas you’re probably consuming on Netflix, Disney, HBO – actually, on all streaming services. Now, it’s getting a real-life upgrade, as live facial recognition is being deployed at London Bridge station.

The rollout is part of a six-month pilot launched by British Transport Police, which the force has said will test how the technology operates in a railway setting. It comes after months of planning and research, all designed to improve public safety.

The trial has already kicked off this week, with the technology in operation as of Tuesday afternoon. Chief Superintendent Chris Casey, BTP’s senior officer overseeing the project, said: “The project team have spent a significant amount of time working closely with partners including Network Rail, the Department for Transport and the Rail Delivery Group to get us to this stage.

“I want to reiterate that this is a trial of the technology to assess how it performs in a railway setting.”

Illuminated London underground sign at night, London, United Kingdom

(Image credit: Alexander Spatari via Getty Images)

According to the Chief Super, the cameras work by scanning faces and comparing them to a watchlist of offenders wanted for serious offences. If there’s a match – very Tinderesque – then the system generates an alert (again, not dissimilar from a dating app). Then, an officer will review it and carry out further checks to determine if the person is a suspect and if further action is needed. This scanning and comparison system has already been used by the police on London streets, with the Metropolitan Police confirming over 1,400 arrests have been made since the technology was introduced.

LFR (live facial recognition) has an exceptionally low false alert rate with current statistics showing false alerts occurring in 0.0003% of cases out of three million facial scans. According to the Met Police, the technology has proven to be both effective and accurate.

Chief Superintendent Casey reiterated that passengers who do not wish to be scanned by live facial recognition will be able to use alternative routes. If you’re a tech-averse, under the radar kinda person, then you’ll be glad to know that images of anyone not on the authorised database will be deleted immediately and permanently.

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Hermione Blandford
Hermione Blandford
Content Editor

Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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