Police to use Live Facial Recognition technology at Wrexham and Shrewsbury Town fixture
North Wales Police are set to use Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology at the League One fixture between Wrexham AFC and Shrewsbury Town.
On Wednesday Wrexham.com reported that the force would be rolling out the technology for “specific events” across the region.
It comes following a trial at Holyhead Port earlier this year to help identify suspects wanted for “priority offences” and missing people.
The technology operations by mapping people’s unique facial features and matching them against faces on watch-lists.
Its use by police has led to concerns being raised by privacy campaigners over how data is stored and used.
Chief Superintendent Mark Williams said: “LFR technology enables police forces to identify suspects, persons wanted on warrant and missing persons.
“The use of this technology by North Wales Police is designed to be responsible, proportionate, and fair. It aims to keep the public safe by identifying serious offenders and protecting the vulnerable.
“The LFR software provides an efficient and effective way of picking known offenders out of a crowd.
“We’re very keen for these people to be caught but we’re also keen for innocent people to go about their day-to-day business and have a good time at a football match they’ve paid good money to attend.
“The law-abiding public should be reassured that the system is specifically looking for wanted people and does not record or store the faces of anyone that it is not specifically seeking out.
“I would also like to emphasise that proportionality and compliance with legislation and guidelines were key considerations in deploying LFR technology at this event in Wrexham.”
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