Nottinghamshire Police has announced a force-wide rollout of facial recognition cameras mounted in marked vans to be used in public places across the county.
How the system will work
The force said the cameras will scan the faces of people passing the vehicle and compare them with a pre-approved "watch list". That list can include individuals wanted in connection with crimes, those subject to banning orders and people reported missing who may need safeguarding.
- Officers present at each deployment must verify any potential match before taking further action.
- Images of people who do not trigger an alert will be deleted automatically within seconds.
- The force says the technology will be used "fairly and proportionately" and will not replace officers.
Detective Superintendent Will Henley, who is leading the project, said the system is aimed at identifying people already on the input list rather than tracking the public’s movements. He stressed that human oversight will be required before any action is taken.
“This new technology is not interested in tracking your movements. It is designed to identify those faces we have inputted into the system who are wanted for crimes or in need of safeguarding, such as locating missing people.”
Assurances and community concerns
Henley acknowledged concerns about the use of facial recognition cameras, saying information collected would not be retained and claiming the software does not discriminate on the grounds of gender, age or race. The force also suggested the visibility of marked vans could act as a deterrent when they are deployed in neighbourhoods.
The rollout follows an earlier trial in January 2022 that operated differently. Where the 2022 system allowed officers to submit CCTV footage and other images from investigations for comparison with custody photographs, the new approach will actively scan people in public places from the vans.
| Feature | 2022 trial | New van deployment |
|---|---|---|
| Source of images | CCTV and investigation images submitted by officers | Live camera scans of passers-by |
| Location | Controlled submissions (not publicly deployed) | Marked police vans in public places |
Transparency and oversight
Nottinghamshire Police said results from deployments in the county will be published on the force’s website. The force also asserted that the technology has been used by other police forces and proved useful as a policing tool. It emphasised that the cameras will not lead to a reduction in the number of officers available.
Local residents and civil liberties groups have previously expressed unease about the spread of live facial recognition, pointing to risks around privacy, data protection and potential bias. The force’s statements aim to address those worries, but the rollout is likely to prompt renewed scrutiny and questions about how deployments will be authorised, monitored and audited.
Practical details such as where the vans will operate, how long each deployment will last and the mechanism for publishing results will be of interest to communities across Nottinghamshire as the programme is implemented.
As the programme progresses, information will be available via Nottinghamshire Police’s public communications and the force’s website.
