Police to roll out live facial recognition camera at Roundhay Festival in Leeds
“The tech doesn’t make arrests, officers do.”
Police will be bringing a facial recognition camera to the brand new Roundhay Festival in Leeds this weekend.
Pitbull and Lewis Capaldi are among the big names from the music world performing at the major new event. The concerts are set to run from Friday (July 3) to Sunday (July 5).
West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that its live facial recognition camera will be in operation throughout the weekend.
In a video on social media, the force said: “Our Live Facial Recognition (LFR) Van will be at Roundhay Festival this weekend 🎡🎤
“Use of the technology is part of our ongoing commitment to keeping our communities safe and bringing offenders to justice.”
Explaining how it works, the force adds: “We are upfront about it, there is signage at every single deployment.
“We want people to know about it, it’s certainly not a secret. The system has been tested thoroughly and it’s performing really well.
“Plus we have safeguards in place to make sure it operates fairly and accurately. The tech doesn’t make arrests, officers do.
“Every alert is double checked by a trained officer before any action is taken. If you are not on the watchlist your image is instantly deleted, it’s gone in literally seconds.
“We are not tracking people’s daily lives, it’s only being used in specific locations for an approved policing purpose.”