Arrests made as facial recognition vans introduced

Three people were arrested on the day a police force used live facial recognition (LFR) vans, figures show.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) used two vehicles in Cornmarket Street in Oxford on Monday and stats published on TVP's website show cameras monitored more than 34,600 faces between 11:20 and 14:50 GMT.

The technology, which has been criticised by some civil liberty groups, compares the digital image of a human face against a database of faces.

Earlier this week, Det Ch Supt Craig Kirby, TVP's head of crime and intelligence, said the cameras gave the force an "additional tactic to quickly locate people of interest, arrest outstanding suspects and safeguard high-risk missing people".

In the summer, the government said LFR had been used in London to make 580 arrests in 12 months, including 52 registered sex offenders who breached their conditions.

The Home Office announced funding for 10 more vans, including for use by police across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and the Thames Valley.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary started its own first full deployment earlier in December.

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