Met police using facial recognition in fresh crackdown on e-bike phone snatchers
London Metropolitan Police is using facial recognition technology to prevent illegal e-bike use.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley praised the technology as one of the most significant innovations in tackling crime in decades, claiming it had already helped catch thousands of criminals.
The increasing prevalence of dangerous driving and phone snatching incidents involving e-bikes has become a growing concern in the capital.
Sir Mark stated that police cameras quickly scan the faces of illegal e-bike riders, allowing them to intervene in targeted operations.
This initiative is in line with government efforts to expand police use of facial recognition to fight crime. However, the technology has faced significant criticism.
Earlier this year the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) described the Met Police’s live facial recognition policy as “unlawful”.
The equality watchdog also said current rules and safeguards surrounding the force’s deployment of the technology “fall short” and could have a “chilling effect” on individuals’ rights, particularly during protests.
Police currently use three types of facial recognition: retrospective, used to search for images of people arrested in criminal investigations versus images of crime scenes; live, using live video footage of people passing cameras and comparing their images with a list of wanted persons; and an operator-initiated mobile app that allows officers to check a person’s identity without arresting them.
The Home Office funded facial recognition with £12.6 million last year; £2.8 million has been spent on national live facial recognition, including mobile vans and fixed-location pilots.
Sir Mark said the Met was increasingly confiscating e-bikes.
He added: “This issue arises in every district.
“Whether you’re talking in the inner city boroughs or Westminster, and then outside London, in places like Bromley and Kingston, this issue continues to come up.
“So we’re making a big point about this.”
Sir Mark said “extremely powerful” facial recognition technology helped the force arrest the best of 1,000 criminals last year, including those guilty of serious crimes and sex offences.
He said: “It has so many uses and it will lift people so fast, so it will lift people on e-bikes and in all kinds of situations.
“This is one of the biggest innovations in tackling crime we’ve seen in decades and that’s why we’re investing more in it and Londoners will see more bad people taken off the streets thanks to facial recognition compared to previous years.”
Sir Mark added that the rules on e-bikes and e-scooters were clear and “pretty tough”, with e-bike motors having to be disabled at 25.5 miles per hour and e-scooters being banned in London unless they were scooters for hire.
Police found that some had been illegally modified to achieve higher speeds or to enable them to be operated without pedaling. Conversion kits are available online for as little as £300.
E-bikes speeding over 25.5 mph are considered motorcycles that must be registered, taxed and insured, and can be seized by police if they violate the law.
When an illegal e-bike is seized, hazardous and recyclable parts are removed and the bike is crushed.
The crackdown is part of the second phase of the force’s A New Met for London plan, which was launched on Tuesday.
