Moment brazen shoplifter arrested on Oxford Street after trying to evade facial recognition cameras

"The woman, in her 50s, was being tailed by security staff from a nearby store but they lost sight of her among hordes of Christmas shoppers. She is suspected of stealing items valued at 1,000 during a previous crime spree. But as she and a male accomplice made their way towards Oxford Circus, she notices Metropolitan Police officers using the technology that scans faces in the crowd to match them with those of wanted offenders."

"LFR cameras - housed in mobile vans at fixed locations - have already helped catch over 1,300 criminals in the capital since the start of 2024, including rapists, violent robbers and paedophiles. More than 100 registered sex offenders were caught breaching their licence conditions. One of them, David Cheneler, 73, was arrested with a six-year-old girl he picked up from her south London school whilst also carrying a knife and later jailed."

A woman in her 50s suspected of stealing items was tailed by store security but lost in Christmas shoppers before being detected by live facial recognition near Oxford Circus. An alert from LFR cameras triggered officers' handsets and uniformed police detained her and a male accomplice near the Ikea superstore; the man is also wanted for alleged domestic violence. LFR systems in mobile vans have helped catch over 1,300 criminals in London since early 2024, including rapists, violent robbers and paedophiles, and more than 100 registered sex offenders breaching licence conditions. Inspector Richard Cassidy said deployments are intelligence-led despite civil liberties concerns.

Read at www.standard.co.uk