Facial Recognition Cuts Sex Crimes by 21% in Croydon Pilot

Sex crimes against women have been cut after police deployed live facial recognition cameras in a six-month pilot scheme in Croydon, south London, according to the Metropolitan Police. The pilot ran from October 2025 to March 2026 and produced an arrest every 35 minutes, with offences involving violence against women and girls seeing a 21% reduction during the period.

Pilot Results and Crime Reduction

The Metropolitan Police said the pilot cut overall crime by 10.5% compared with the same period the previous year. The biggest reduction was in offences involving violence against women and girls, which saw the 21% drop during the six-month period.

Arrests and Suspects Identified

Among the 173 people arrested during the Croydon pilot were a 41-year-old man wanted on suspicion of rape and a 36-year-old woman wanted for 20 years after failing to appear at court for an assault in 2004. Other arrests included suspects wanted for serious sexual assault and kidnapping.

How the Technology Works

The cameras enable police to scan faces of passers-by in the street and instantly cross-reference them with a database of wanted suspects or known criminals. Police can stop and question convicted criminals on the sex offenders’ list as part of what the Home Office has described as a “hostile environment” designed to stop them reoffending.

Operational Details and Accuracy

The cameras were used in 24 operations, each of which had a bespoke “wanted” list drawn up the night before. More than 470,000 people walked past the camera during the pilot with just one false alert.

Lindsey Chiswick, the national and Met lead for the technology, said: “These results show why live facial recognition is such a powerful tool when it’s used carefully, openly and in the right places. Crime in this area is down by more than 10%. The public can see the difference. This technology is helping us find people wanted by the courts, identify serious offenders quickly, and focus our resources where they make the biggest impact, all with exceptional accuracy.”

More than six in 10 of offences linked to arrests were committed in Croydon, which the Met said highlighted the pilot’s ability to keep hotspots safe.

Government Policy and Legal Challenge

The success of the scheme will reinforce Home Office plans to roll out facial recognition cameras to all 43 police forces in England and Wales. More than a dozen forces currently use the technology.

Policing minister Sarah Jones said the “disruption approach” was reasonable to help officers manage prolific offenders. “I certainly want to create a hostile environment for prolific sexual offenders,” she said.

In April, privacy campaigners lost a High Court challenge against the Metropolitan Police over its use of the technology in London.