A Beyoncé gig in Cardiff, a football derby in London and the coronation of King Charles all had one thing in common. During each event, police scanned crowds using AI-driven facial recognition technology (FRT).
Police in North Wales are keeping a watching brief on a form of FRT that’s already caused much controversy in South Wales. Critics have claimed that real-time capturing of people’s biometrics is intrusive and “rights-abusing” – but the UK government is keen that all forces adopt it.
The issue is being considered by the Parliamentary Welsh Affairs Committee, chaired by Stephen Crabb MP. On Friday, the committee released evidence collected from Wales’ four Police and Crime Commissioners that included a look at FCT. Welsh MPs noted claims by South Wales Police that FRT deployment at one event alone may have saved the public purse almost half-a-million pounds.
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Since 2014, North Wales Police has been using the Retrospective Facial Search facility via the Police National Database (PND). This enables officers to search to a PND database of custody images against images of suspects in a police investigation. “For example, a domestic CCTV system may have captured the images of individuals breaking into someone’s home address,” said Chief Sup Nick Evans. “The images of the suspects can be used to search PND in an attempt to identify them.”
In contrast, South Police Police is using Live Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). This allows images to be captured in live time, in streets and at events, to be immediately searched against a watchlist. Officers can then intervene if a match is found.
In May 2023, crowds attending Beyonce’s Cardiff concert were scanned for possible terrorists using Live FTC. It followed increased police vigilance after the Ariana Grande Manchester Arena bombing in 2017. As many young girls were at the Beyoncé concert, the crowd was also scanned for paedophiles.
Alun Michael, South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, told the Welsh Affairs Committee, that no matches or arrests were made at the concert. Before deploying Live FCT, the force deliberately advertises the fact with a view to deterring potential offenders. Mr Michael said: “We cannot know whether the deployment deterred would-be offenders, but we do know that no sexual offences were reported associated with the event.”
(Image: Getty Images)
In December 2023, 11 Senedd Members from across the political spectrum wrote to the chief constable of South Wales Police (SWP) raising concerns about the “hugely intrusive” use of Live FRT. They said the technology, which subjects every passer-by to biometric identity checks, was a reversal of the principle that suspicion should precede surveillance.
In the run-up to Christmas, when street crime tends to be more prevalent, SWP deployed the technology at events in Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend and Pontypridd. Chief critic Sarah Murphy, Labour MS for Bridgend, wrote: “In my own community of Bridgend and Porthcawl, we’ve seen 12,196 people have their faces scanned for simply being out with their family ahead of Christmas.
“Whilst South Wales Police have said that this is to catch criminals, we’ve also seen them promote the operation on social media – meaning they only need to dodge our town centre for a couple of days, before going back out.” The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now – here’s how to sign up
Privacy campaigner Big Brother Watch has accused Live FRT of being a “hugely intrusive surveillance tool”. The group warned it was “turning high streets and city centres across Wales into high-tech police line-ups”.
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
In 2020, Ed Bridges, a civil liberties campaigner, joined forces with Liberty, winning a court case against SWP about the use of Live FRT. Since then, the force said it has tightened up governance, only using Live FRT “overtly” with highly identifiable vehicles and large amounts of signage. All biometric data captured from individuals is automatically “reviewed and deleted in under a second”, Mr Michael told the committee.
Up to the point of giving evidence last November, the commissioner said Live FRT had been deployed in South Wales on around 80 occasions. These had resulted in 75 arrests and “no false arrests” or complaints.
Mr Michael said a key benefit of Live FRT was to disrupt organised crime and save money. Ahead of a Slipknot concert in Cardiff in 2020, police intelligence shared with SWP identified an organised crime group was targeting the band’s UK tour. This had resulted in 216 mobile phones being stolen at four gigs in the run-up to the Cardiff event.
Using Live FRT, one person was arrested. Another was identified but got away. No phones were reported stolen or missing at the Cardiff event. Mr Michael told the committee: “It is often easier to put a cash value on the cost of crime than on the value of prevention, but on this occasion an estimate has been made.
“Based on the thefts at the previous events, without preventative deployment, South Wales Police would have probably have had to investigate the theft of some 54 phones at a cost of £12,744. The savings to society generally is estimated at £439,668, which includes costs to the Crown Prosecution Service, court and administration costs and costs incurred by victims and insurance companies.”
(Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
North Wales Police (NWP) had been using retrospective facial searches for a decade. In October 2023, police forces in England and Wales were urged to double the number of searches they make using Retrospective FRT to more than 200,000 by May 2024. Crime and policing minister Chris Philp wants forces to increase their use of the AI crime-fighting tool to “catch perpetrators and keep our streets safe”.
In a letter to police chiefs, he also asked forces to roll out live FRT more widely. The technology was used in the Arsenal v Tottenham derby last September, resulting in three arrests, including one for sexual offences, he said. Another wanted sex offender was identified at the King’s Coronation and sent back to prison the same day. Faces were also scanned at the British Formula One Grand Prix.
Mr Philp insisted the accuracy of FRT has developed rapidly. An independent study by the National Physical Laboratory of the algorithm used by SWP and the Met found that the technology was “100% accurate” when used on still images. When used on live images, only one in 6,000 false alerts resulted.
Neither did the study find statistically significant differences for gender or ethnicity, an issue that’s previously dogged the technology. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
Mr Philp said FRT will allow the police to “stay one step ahead of criminals”. He added: “AI technology is a powerful tool for good, with huge opportunities to advance policing and cut crime.”
Chief Sup Nick Evans said the use of Retrospective FRT in North Wales has enabled officers to recover evidence more quickly, increasing the chances of successful prosecutions. He added: “It has proved particularly beneficial in identifying criminals who travel across force boundaries and as such would be more difficult to identify through traditional means.
“North Wales Police are not currently using Live FRT as is being demonstrated in South Wales. We will continue to watch with interest and learn from the trials being conducted in South Wales as we strive to make the best use of technology to protect our communities. There are national forums in place to ensure the sharing of best practice in this regard.”
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