A six-month trial of live facial recognition (LFR) in South London has yielded striking figures: over 170 arrests. Among those detained was a woman who had evaded justice for two decades after failing to appear in court following an assault in 2004. The Metropolitan Police reports a 10.5% reduction in crime in Croydon and a 21% decrease in violence against women and girls between October 2025 and March 2026.
Cameras That Read Faces in Real Time 🤖
The LFR system uses computer vision algorithms to compare faces captured live against databases of wanted individuals. In Croydon, the cameras process thousands of images per minute, issuing alerts when a match is found. The technology, developed with convolutional neural networks, operates in low-light conditions and high pedestrian density. Arrests included cases of kidnapping, rape, and serious sexual assault, demonstrating its ability to identify repeat offenders and long-term fugitives.
The Camera That Never Forgets, the Fugitive Who Did 😅
If you've been hiding for 20 years, you might have thought time would erase your face. But facial recognition has no selective memory: for it, 2004 was yesterday. The detained woman was surely hoping for a quiet retirement, but ended up in the same place she avoided for two decades: a courthouse. Sure, at least now she'll have time to catch up on the series she missed. Technology doesn't forgive, but at least it doesn't criticize your 2000s hairstyle.