London cops hail fixed facial recognition cams after suspects collared every 35 mins

"London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is giving its six-month trial of static live facial recognition (LFR) cameras credit for helping it secure an arrest every 35 minutes. The Met's LFR chief said the results show why LFR is "such a powerful tool" for coppers, who, across 24 operations between October 2025 and March 2026, made 173 arrests."

"Those arrested included people suspected of kidnapping and sex crimes, as well as others who had evaded law enforcement for decades. Among those 173 arrests was that of a 36-year-old woman who had been wanted by the police after failing to appear at court for an assault in 2004. The Met also arrested a 31-year-old man, wanted for more than six months in connection with voyeurism, and a 41-year-old man suspected of rape in November 2025."

"Thirty-seven of the total 173 arrests related to those who had breached their court-imposed conditions, the Met said. Nilton Darame, 25, was one of these individuals who had violated his electronic tag conditions and was found by a static camera alert in October last year, say cops. He was arrested on suspicion of intentional strangulation and two counts of assault on an emergency worker. In January, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison."

"In November last year, the Met continues, Kastriot Krrashi, 35, was clocked by a Croydon LFR camera and stopped by officers on suspicion of breaching his conditions as a registered sex offender. He was later sentenced to six months in prison. Officers were also alerted in January when LFR cameras identified Neville Cohen, 55, who was wanted after failing to attend Croydon Police Station in October 2025, as required by his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO)."

The Metropolitan Police Service reported that its six-month trial of static live facial recognition cameras led to an arrest every 35 minutes. Across 24 operations from October 2025 to March 2026, officers made 173 arrests using the camera alerts. Arrests included people suspected of kidnapping and sex crimes, as well as individuals who had evaded law enforcement for decades. Thirty-seven arrests involved people who breached court-imposed conditions. Examples included a man arrested after violating electronic tag conditions and later sentenced to 18 months, a registered sex offender stopped after a Croydon camera alert and later sentenced to six months, and a man identified after failing to attend a police station and later sentenced to four months.

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