AT first glance, it looks like just another white van parked up by the side of the road.
But the unremarkable Iveco truck is a secret weapon for cops in their drive to nail dangerous fugitives.
Cops speak to a passerby flagged by live cameras in East LondonPaul Edwards
Sun man Mike Sullivan approaches LFR camerasPaul Edwards
The tech recognised The Sun’s Mike from the scanned imagePaul Edwards
Covered in cameras, it houses a bank of screens and hi-tech computer equipment — the centrepiece of a Met Police Live Facial Recognition (LFR) deployment.
And it plays a crucial role in safeguarding children and the vulnerable from sex offenders, stalkers and violent criminals.
Seven cameras perched on top of the vehicle constantly scan the pedestrians walking by — feeding the images into a computer which flags up suspects wanted by cops.
It also looks out for people on the run or subject to court orders for a range of offences, including sex crimes, to ensure they have not committed any breach.
Known haunts
The Sun joined a Met Live Facial Recognition team on a deployment close to Upton Park station in London’s East End — and I got to test out the kit.
I handed over a copy of my Press card featuring my grisly mug, which was fed into the database alongside 16,000 genuine custody images of wanted criminals and those subject to court orders.
It means that when I later come into view of the truck’s cameras, alerts inside start going off like a pinball machine.
My features registered a high score on the biometrics system, which works using facial measurements. Happily, the cops inside knew it was all for my report.
Met Central Ops director Lindsey Chiswick says: “If you’re not subject to a current order or wanted for a criminal offence, then the tech will ignore you. It is taking some really dangerous people off the streets.”
The LFR van at Upton Park was sitting close to a Greggs bakery — a famous target for shoplifters. One officer told me: “Businesses love to see us turn up. Nobody will be shoplifting at Greggs here today.”
New stats released today show 1,035 wanted criminals were arrested by the Met between January 1 2024 and June 20 this year thanks to this new facial recognition kit.
They included more than 100 offenders who carried out serious acts of violence such as rape, stalking and domestic abuse.
Some 93 of them were registered sex offenders, including David Cheneler, 73, who was lagged up by LFR in Denmark Hill, South London, in January while walking with a six-year-old girl.
Cheneler, who was jailed for nine years in 2019 for offences against children, had befriended the girl’s mother on his release from prison and offered to pick the youngster up from school as a “favour”.
The mum had no idea of his appalling history.
Paul EdwardsEight arrests were made during the Upton Park deployment[/caption]
Paul EdwardsThe unremarkable Iveco truck is a secret weapon for cops[/caption]
Cheneler was found to have a knife when stopped by the LFR team — and checks revealed that he was in breach of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order stopping him from being alone with a child under 14.
The paedophile, from Lewisham, South London, was sentenced to two years at Kingston Crown Court in May after admitting breaching the terms of his order and possessing an offensive weapon.
Lindsey Chiswick says: “The tech flagged him up.
“Without it, Cheneler would still be walking the streets.”
A violent robber who targeted a Rolex watch, 22-year-old Adenola Akindutrie, had false ID documents and used a fake Irish accent on cops when he was flagged up by LFR in Stratford, East London, in April.
People might age, put on weight or lose it, but they will still show up as certain facial features don’t change a lot.
Police officer
He was arrested and fingerprints proved his identity. The villain is now behind bars awaiting sentence.
Shoplifter Darren Dubarry, 50, was also caught on camera in May because he was wanted for theft — and found to be in possession of designer clothing he had stolen that same day.
Eight arrests were made during the Upton Park deployment attended by The Sun last month, with 14 people stopped in total.
A second LFR team operating that day in Tooting, South London, made two arrests.
The NeoFace system checks 28 facial measurements, including eyes, nose, mouth and head size.
Paul EdwardsIf a person is of no interest, then the pixelated image is immediately deleted[/caption]
Each person is given a score, and the threshold for an alert is anything over 0.64. After I had my image added to the system, it clocked me instantly and I scored 1.47.
If a person is of no interest, then the pixelated image caught on LFR is immediately deleted.
Even though the vans themselves are inconspicuous, LFR vehicles have a sign on the back saying Live Facial Recognition in operation — and there are warning notices at either end of the recognition zones.
If someone flags up on the system, an alarm in the vehicle is activated and the person is pulled aside. Sunglasses and baseball caps are no barrier to the technology.
And if you are wanted for an offence and hoping fat jabs may have changed your features, then forget it. You will still be spotted.
In general, around one in five of those serving protection orders is found to be in breach of their conditions and arrested on the spot.
Intelligence reports on those stopped but not in breach go to offender managers to make them aware of the criminals’ movements.
It is taking some really dangerous people off the streets
Met Central Ops director Lindsey Chiswick
The list of 16,000 subjects of interest in Upton Park is based on reports of their known haunts.
An officer on the team, says: “Criminals are transient, but it’s possible some of the 16,000 could be in the area.
“Some of the custody images might be five years old, but we have even matched a custody image which was taken 24 years ago.
“People might age, put on weight or lose it, but they will still flag up because certain facial features don’t change a lot.”
The LFR system was first trialled by the Met in 2016 and by South Wales Police the following year.
It is expanding across the country with eight forces having used it.
Freedom of information data revealed LFR scanned 4.7million faces in England and Wales last year — twice the number in 2023.
False alerts are rare — one in 33,000 — and officers provide a safeguard by making the ultimate decision on whether to stop someone.
Civil liberties groups have raised fears of a Big Brother era being ushered in without legal checks and balances.
However, 83 per cent of the public backs the system.
Paul EdwardsSeven cameras perched on top of the vehicle constantly scan pedestrians walking by[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
