Met Police roll out facial recognition technology to tackle London’s worst shoplifters

Published

2 years ago

October 19, 2023

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Britain’s biggest police force is using facial recognition technology to tackle London’s worst shoplifters by matching CCTV stills to mugshots.

The Metropolitan Police said 149 suspects were identified within days after asking the capital’s 12 leading retailers last month for images of their 30 most prolific unidentified offenders.

Some of the suspects have links to serious crime, while all of them have previously been arrested for crimes including drug dealing, sexual offences, burglary, violence and possession of firearms, according to the force.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley called the results “game-changing” as his force tries to crack down on shoplifting, with its rise blamed on the cost of living crisis and organised crime.

The government has come under increasing pressure from retailers to get a grip on the retail crime responsible for the loss of an estimated £1.9 billion in revenue in the UK each year.

Policing minister Chris Philp earlier this month suggested passport photos could be integrated into the police database to find a CCTV match.

The Met said its facial recognition technology can match features against police mugshots in around a minute and that officers will now work with stores to build a case against the suspects identified from 302 CCTV stills and track them down.

Sir Mark said: “We’re working with shops across the capital to target and track down criminals in a way we never have before.

“We’re pushing the boundaries and using innovation and technology to rapidly identify criminals.

“The results we’ve seen so far are game-changing. The use of facial recognition in this way could revolutionise how we investigate and solve crime.”

The Met said one in 10 Londoners works in retail with more than 1,000 cases of abuse and violence reported against staff every year.

Sir Mark said the use of facial recognition technology has shown most of the suspects are career criminals involved in serious crime.

“Through this tactic we’re not only improving how we protect shops and support the business community, we’re stepping further forward in identifying and tracking down serious criminals and protecting all of London’s communities,” he said.

“The scale of business crime in London is huge. To be successful we have to be precise in our approach and this is a really promising step forward.”

The Met started using the software in August and began the retail pilot in late September.

The force says the facial recognition algorithm has been independently tested through the National Physical Laboratory with an assurance it’s 100% accurate when used retrospectively.

A threat to privacy

But Emmanuelle Andrews, from human rights charity Liberty said facial recognition technology “has no place on our streets, in our shops – or in any other areas of our lives”.

She added: “This technology threatens our privacy and stifles free speech – and we should all be worried about moves to expand its reach.

“We’re also concerned about the creep of facial recognition technology into other areas of policing.

“Let’s be clear: we cannot rely on tech to solve deep societal problems, this is an unjustified expansion of state surveillance and there are numerous alternatives.”

Around 50,000 shoplifting incidents were reported to the Met last year, estimated to be between 5% and 10% of the offences that are actually committed.

UK

League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

Published

7 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

A league table of foreign criminals and their offences is set to be published for the first time.

The plans, due to be announced on Tuesday, will reportedly focus on those offenders awaiting deportation from the UK.

The latest data shows there were 19,244 foreign offenders awaiting deportation at the end of 2024, a rise from 17,907 when the Conservatives left office in July and 14,640 at the end of 2022.

Despite more offenders being deported since Labour came to power, the number waiting to be removed from the UK has been growing.

Factors are understood to include the early release of inmates due to prison overcrowding, instability and diplomatic problems in some countries and a backlog of legal cases appealing deportation.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the decision to publish the nationalities of foreign criminals showed Labour had “buckled” under pressure from the Conservatives to disclose the data.

The latest government statistics show there were 10,355 foreign nationals held in custody in England and Wales at the end of 2024, representing 12% of the prison population.

The most common nationalities after British nationals were Albanian (11%), Polish (8%), Romanian (7%), which also represented the top three nationalities who were deported from the UK in 2024, according to Home Office figures.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to have ordered officials to release the details by the end of the year, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper reported Ms Cooper overruled Home Office officials, who previously claimed it was too difficult to provide quality data on foreign criminals.

A Home Office source said: “Not only are we deporting foreign criminals at a rate never seen when Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick were in charge at the Home Office, but we will also be publishing far more information about that cohort of offenders than the Tories ever did.”

The source added that ministers wanted “to ensure the public is kept better informed about the number of foreign criminals awaiting deportation, where they are from and the crimes they have committed”.

In March, the government announced £5m in funding to deploy staff to 80 jails in England and Wales to speed up the deportation of foreign offenders.

Foreign nationals sentenced to 12 months or more in prison are subject to automatic deportation, but the home secretary can also remove criminals if their presence in the UK is not considered desirable.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick welcomed the news, saying: “We will finally see the hard reality that mass migration is fuelling crime across our country… Frankly, the public deserved to know this [detail on foreign criminals] long ago.”

UK

Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Published

10 hours ago

April 22, 2025

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Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Rachel Reeves will pledge to “stand up for Britain’s national interest” as she heads to Washington DC amid hopes of a UK/US trade deal.

The chancellor will fly to the US capital for her spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first of which began on Sunday.

During her three-day visit, Ms Reeves is set to hold meetings with G7, G20 and IMF counterparts about the changing global economy and is expected to make the case for open trade.

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Her visit comes after Donald Trump imposed blanket 10% tariffs on all imports into the US, including from the UK, and as talks about reaching a trade deal intensified.

The chancellor will also hold her first in-person meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, about striking a new trade agreement, which the UK hopes will take the sting out of Mr Trump’s tariffs.

In addition to the 10% levy on all goods imported to America from the UK, Mr Trump enacted a 25% levy on car imports.

Ms Reeves will also be hoping to encourage fellow European finance ministers to increase their defence spending and discuss the best ways to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Speaking ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “The world has changed, and we are in a new era of global trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.

“This changing world is unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what tariffs will mean for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security.

“Instead, we must rise to meet the moment and I will always act to defend British interests as part of our plan for change.

“We need a world economy that provides stability and fairness for businesses wanting to invest and trade, more trade and global partnerships between nations with shared interests, and security for working people who want to get on with their lives.”

UK

Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield – as victim named

Published

16 hours ago

April 21, 2025

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Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield - as victim named

A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.

“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”

The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.