Cameras have been mounted onto street furniture, like lamp posts, in the Croydon area.

According to the Met, a third of arrests were for offences involving violence against women and girls.

Those arrested in Croydon include:

-A 36-year-old woman who has been unlawfully at large for over 20 years. She was wanted for failing to appear at court for an assault in 2004.

– A 37-year-old Registered Sex Offender who was found in possession of an unregistered mobile phone and having access to social media, a breach of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

– A man aged 27, who was wanted on suspicion of kidnap.

New figures released by the Met today shows the pilot, which ran from October, has helped drive down crime in Fairfield Ward, Croydon by 12%, such as retail and violent crime as well as sexual offences.

Lindsey Chiswick, the Met and national lead for live facial recognition, said:

“The increase in LFR deployments across crime hotspots in London is driven by its proven impact and success — with more than 1,700 dangerous offenders taken off London’s streets since the start of 2024, including those wanted for rape and child abuse.

“This is why we are trialling a new and innovative pilot in Croydon. It allows us to explore a different way of using facial recognition by operating it remotely and more efficiently.

“The amount of arrests we have made in just 13 deployments shows the technology is already making an impact and helping to make Croydon safer. Public support remains strong, with 85% of Londoners backing the use of LFR to keep them safe.”

Arrests using LFR are being made faster too. The average time to locate wanted individuals has reduced by more than 50% compared with van-based deployments. We already know LFR is significantly quicker at locating wanted offenders that normal police tactics such as door-to-door enquiries.

Three quarters of those arrested reside in Croydon, which demonstrates how the Met is using LFR to target resources in areas with higher crime rates, helping to keep Croydon residents safe from those who pose the greatest risk.