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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Robert Booth and Mark Wilding

Essex police pause facial recognition camera use after study finds racial bias

Essex Police officer beside live facial recognition van in Chelmsford
Essex Police officer beside live facial recognition van in Chelmsford Photograph: Ian Davidson/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News.

Essex police have paused the use of live facial recognition (LFR) technology after a study found cameras were significantly more likely to target black people than people of other ethnicities.

The move to suspend use of the AI-enabled systems was revealed by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which regulates the use of the technology deployed so far by at least 13 police forces in London, south and north Wales, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Hampshire, Bedfordshire, Suffolk, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Surrey and Sussex.

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