Facial recognition powers granted to police authorities could be ramped up by the government, despite cries over privacy from some critics.
With LFR technology already in use by some police forces, the government wants to escalate a rollout and support a bigger breakthrough in catching criminals and securing their convictions with biometric evidence.
How the police use different types of facial recognition has also attracted some criticism about the mass public surveillance that these tools could drive to violate people’s right to privacy. The technology is planned to expand FR policing in towns and city centres, but the government is seeking feedback on the creation of a regulator to oversee the appropriate use of biometric technology, which could take up to two years to pass.
The police watch across England and Wales is expected to grow, with a target of recruiting more than 13,000 officers by 2029. In October, the Home Office announced it was deploying 10 new live facial recognition units. As the Metropolitan is praised for its use of LFR in London, the government promises to shape a framework that understands how LFR matches live facial images against police watchlists and databases.
Kier Starmer’s lead on digital identity provisioning the mandatory digital ID cards – Britcard – has been accused of eroding privacy.
Big Brother Watch said: “Facial recognition surveillance is out of control, with the police’s own records showing over 7 million innocent people in England and Wales have been scanned by police facial recognition cameras in the past year alone.
Live facial recognition could be the end of privacy as we know it. With the government now threatening to introduce mandatory ID cards with our facial biometrics on them too, we are hurtling towards an authoritarian surveillance state that would make Orwell roll in his grave.”
Identity Week Europe 2026 on 9-10 June is where leaders analyse this transition, asking: How do we secure the data, maintain inclusion, and successfully roll this out 70 million people? Biometrics at the Borders, Beyond the Face, Finger, and Iris, and Digital ID in Government are key sessions to learn the best practices behind these massive transformations.
