London’s Met Police is officially rolling out more facial recognition cameras across West End and Soho
You can’t hide and you definitely can’t run on Oxford St
In what felt like a very Black Mirror, 1984-esque move, the Met Police announced the roll-out of live facial recognition software being used across several transport hubs. The devices have previously been trialled across London Bridge station and Brixton. Now, they’re heading for central.
The devices attach to street furniture and allow the Met to monitor crowds remotely. The Soho and West End devices are set to be in place by the end of 2026. The extension follows a six month pilot in Croydon which wrapped in May 2026, and led to 173 arrests, including one woman sought for over two decades.
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 thousands of arrests have been made since the technology was introduced.
LFR (live facial recognition) has an exceptionally low false alert rate too, 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.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “Facial recognition is one of the most revolutionary technology advances in policing in recent years.
“Public confidence in this is clear – around 80 per cent of Londoners support its use. That backing reflects a simple truth: it works.
“We have already seen the impact in Croydon, where a six-month pilot delivered over 170 arrests, a reduction in crime and a significant fall in violence against women and girls.” He added that “The technology supports officers to target wanted criminals and registered sex offenders. Crucially it is supporting officers – not replacing them.”
So long as there are no major disasters, it wouldn't be surprising if the software will be rolled out across more of London on a permanent basis in the future.
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