Met Police release footage as more than 1,000 arrests made using live facial recognition technology
4 July 2025, 10:08 | Updated: 4 July 2025, 10:23
The police have made more than 1,000 arrests using the facial recognition technology.
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David Cheneler, 73, was among 93 registered sex offenders held by Met police using the controversial technology since the start of last year.
He was discovered with the girl after he was spotted by a camera on a police van in Camberwell, south London, in January.
Cheneler, from Lewisham, was jailed for two years in May after admitting breaching his sexual harm prevention order by being with a child under the age of 14.
The force said a total of 1,035 arrests have been made using live facial recognition technology - where live footage is recorded of people as they walk past, capturing their faces, which are then compared against a database of those wanted by the police for offending.
Met Police arrest paedophile after being caught on facial recognition software
If a match is made, the system signals an alert which is assessed by an officer - who may decide to speak to the individual.
These include more than 100 people alleged to have been involved in serious violence against women and girls (VAWG) offences including strangulation, stalking, domestic abuse, and rape.
Meanwhile, Adenola Akindutire was stopped during an operation in Stratford and arrested over the machete robbery of a Rolex watch - which left the victim with life-changing injuries following the attack in Hayes, west London.
Police said Akindutire was connected to a similar incident and had been released on bail. He was found in possession of a false passport and could have avoided arrest if it wasn't for the facial recognition technology.
At Isleworth Crown Court, Akindutire - of no fixed address - admitted charges including robbery, attempted robbery, grievous bodily harm, possession of a false identity document and two counts of possession of a bladed article and faces sentencing.
Darren Dubarry, 50, was already wanted for theft when he was caught with stolen designer clothing in east London.
He was picked up after riding past an LFR camera on his bike.
The man, from Stratford, east London, was fined after pleading guilty to stolen goods.
The Met's LFT lead, Lindsey Chiswick, celebrated the 1,000 arrests as "a demonstration of how cutting-edge technology can make London safer by removing dangerous offenders from our streets".
"Live Facial Recognition is a powerful tool, which is helping us deliver justice for victims, including those who have been subjected to horrendous offences, such as rape and serious assault," she said.
"It is not only saving our officers' valuable time but delivering faster, more accurate results to catch criminals - helping us be more efficient than ever before."
The police say "robust safeguards" are in place, which ensure no biometric data is retained from anyone who walks past an LFR camera who isn't wanted by police.
Human rights group Liberty is calling for new laws to be introduced to govern how police forces use the technology after it found nearly 1.9m faces were scanned by the Met police between January 2022 and March this year.
Charlie Whelton, Liberty policy and campaigns officer, said: "We all want to feel safe in our communities, but technology is advancing quickly, and we need to make sure that our laws keep up.
"Any tech which has the potential to infringe on our rights in the way scanning and identifying millions of people does needs to have robust safeguards around its use to protect us all from abuse of power as we go about our daily lives.
"There is currently no overarching law governing police use of facial recognition in the UK, and we shouldn't leave police forces to come up with these frameworks on their own.
"Almost two million faces have been scanned in London before Parliament has even decided what the laws should be.
"We need to catch up with other countries, and the law needs to catch up with the use. Parliament must legislate now and ensure that safeguards are in place to protect people's rights where the police use this technology."
