Southend: Two arrests in Live Facial Recognition deployment

Officers made two more arrests – including one for sexual assault - as a result of our new Live Facial Recognition technology when it deployed in Southend this weekend.

The deployment on the seafront and in the high street on Sunday (25 August) and Bank Holiday Monday (26 August) was the second since we purchased the technology.

During the first deployment at the Clacton Airshow on Thursday and Friday last week (22 and 23 August), there were five positive alerts leading to three arrests.

In Southend, there were also five positive alerts which resulted in two arrests – one for harassment and one for sexual assault.

In the other instance, a voluntary interview was arranged.

We use the technology to find people wanted for serious offences, to help enforce orders against those whose faces are put on a ‘watch list’ and to protect those who are vulnerable and at risk of harm.

If your face is not on the watch list, the technology deletes your image in a fraction of a second. It’s not retained and it’s not stored on a database.

The technology is so clever, it can recognise someone’s face even if it is partially covered.

Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said:

“This was another successful deployment where we’ve been able to bring suspects into custody and progress our investigations.

“With five arrests from our first two deployments, we’ve seen Live Facial Recognition technology can be an effective tool in finding people we want to speak to

“This technology is an investment in our communities.

“It’s an effective way of finding people we want to speak to and keeping the public safe, as our first two deployments have shown.

“This technology can be a more efficient use of resources than having officers undertaking various time-consuming enquiries to locate them.

“It means those officers are able to do other work to protect and help the public, and further investigations.

“Cutting edge technology is playing an important role in protecting the public, responding to and investigating crimes, and getting justice for victims.

“Criminals cannot think that they can walk around our communities without being caught.”

We're offering more ways for our communities to stay up to date with our work across Essex.

Our e-newsletter, Dispatch, delivers news, information, and advice from Essex Police.

Dispatch is a ‘one stop shop’ for local police news – direct from the source. 

Sign up is completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time.