Man arrested on firearms offences after Live Facial Recognition detection in Luton
The LFR van was put in place in Luton town centre on Saturday 8 November
A man wanted for firearms offences was arrested during the latest deployment of Live Facial Recognition in Luton.
Specialist officers from the force’s dedicated LFR team deployed the Home Office funded vans in Luton Town Centre on Saturday 8 November.
The innovative technology, which works by comparing police images from a pre-determined watchlist with a live camera feed, alerted officers to the match of an induvial who was outstanding for firearms offences.
Following an alert, officers will engage with the individual, making further enquiries to confirm their identity and ensure a true match. Upon approach, the suspect, as man in his 20s, made of from officers leading to a foot chase.
He was arrested a short while later.
LFR has been put into action five times since its introduction at the end of the summer and has already seen more than 20 people being arrested and processed for outstanding warrants or incidents.
The force’s Operational Lead for Live Facial Recognition, Sergeant Kim Coates said, “We are pleased with the results so far, especially with only a handful of deployments across the county.
“The system allows us to monitor a large public space and identify individuals of interest for the police and the courts. We can then co-ordinate and direct officers to enable an arrest quickly and efficiently.
“The support from the public has been positive, with many asking questions about the system and engaging with us. Local businesses also regularly thank us for being there and helping to catch outstanding criminals along with curbing other activity.”