Live facial recognition cameras lead to 82 arrests

Facial recognition cameras have been used to arrest more than 80 people in West Yorkshire since November 2025, police have said.

Live facial recognition (LFR) technology works by comparing faces captured on a live camera feed against an authorised watchlist.

West Yorkshire Police, which deployed the cameras in Wakefield city centre last week, said since their introduction the LFR vans had led to the arrest of 82 suspects.

Ch Supt Stuart Bainbridge, district commander of Wakefield Police, said the cameras were "an incredibly useful tool" for "keeping communities safe".

The technology has been criticised by some privacy campaigners, but recent a challenge against the Metropolitan Police's use of it was dismissed at the High Court in April.

Bainbridge said the cameras "are there to pick out persons already logged on police systems as wanted by the courts, wanted for arrest or as posing a risk to the public".

Images captured of ordinary members of the public are deleted almost instantly, he added.

The cameras have also helped officers find missing and vulnerable people during their 10 months of operation, according to the force.

Arrests made in recent weeks have included suspects wanted for serious domestic offences, as well as retail crime, according to police.

Deputy leader of Wakefield Council John Thomas said he had previously had "concerns" about the use of live facial recognition, but, with "appropriate safeguards" in place, said it was "a valuable tool to keep communities safe whilst not impinging on our civil liberties".

Ch Insp Dan Tillett, LFR specialist at the force, said the technology acted as "an extra pair of high tech eyes" to assist officers in spotting people evading the law.

"More deployments will soon be taking place to maximise our use of this technology in helping make communities safer," he said.

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