Harlow: Town to have second live facial recognition deployment

As we continue to progress a key project in Harlow, we will again be using live facial recognition technology in the town this weekend.

Live facial recognition vans will be used in Harlow on Sunday 15 September. It will be the fourth deployment of the Essex Police-owned kit.

The deployment is again part of the Clear, Hold, Build project, which aims to eradicate criminal activity and regenerate key areas of the town.

It is a Home Office-backed scheme which brings together public services to tackle offending and address underlying issues affecting the local community.

The ultimate aim is to produce sustained change by pursuing offenders, breaking up and dispersing gangs, and creating strong, resilient neighbourhoods.

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 is not retained in any way and is not stored on any database.

The technology was deployed last week, which resulted in three key arrests. Since the first use of the technology less than a month ago, it has helped us to make a total of eight arrests.

Chief Inspector Paul Austin, Harlow district commander, said:

“The innovative kit is proving to be a real asset to the force and its use is only making Harlow, and indeed our wider county, safer.
“We’re using it to identify and locate people who we want to speak to in connection with serious offences, so the overwhelming majority of people in our town have nothing to worry about."

Ch Insp Austin added:

"I want again to be clear – criminals who have committed serious offences cannot walk around freely in our community and this technology allows us to keep our communities safe and ultimately locate people who we believe to have committed serious crimes.”

Click here for more on how and why we use live facial recognition technology in Essex.

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