Live facial recognition technology set to be deployed in Eastleigh

Live facial recognition technology will be deployed in Eastleigh as part of a police operation.

The technology will be used on Market Street and Wells Place in partnership with the specialist team, operating between 10am and 3pm on Wednesday, July 22.

The system is designed to help identify suspects connected to high-risk and priority offences and to assist in locating vulnerable missing persons.

A police spokesperson said: "Facial recognition can scan crowds to identify suspects at a rate and with a level of accuracy that cannot be replicated by officers on the ground.

"A unique watchlist is created for each deployment, ensuring that each operation targets those high-risk and high-harm crimes affecting that community and any wanted offenders with links to that area."

All alerts generated by the technology are verified by a trained operator and assigned to officers on the ground.

Any biometric templates that do not trigger an alert are deleted within seconds so no personal data is stored.

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A spokesperson for Hampshire police said that anyone not on the watchlist will not be matched or recorded, as the system does not capture or store photographs of passers-by.

Instead, it creates a biometric facial template from faces seen on the live camera feed and compares those against the biometric template of images on the watchlist.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Donna Jones, said: "This technology is ground-breaking.

"It's helping lead to the faster detention of suspects, which is freeing up police time to fight crime, patrol our streets, and respond to emergencies.

"This is a forward-thinking approach for modern policing and is another vital step in further protecting our communities."

Watchlist images and their biometric templates will routinely be deleted within 24 hours after each day of the deployment and CCTV footage is deleted within 31 days, the same as standard public cameras, a spokesperson said.

They added that members of the public are encouraged to speak with officers on the day to learn more about the technology, how it works, and its role in supporting frontline policing.