Facial recognition expert rejects Met claim that its use of tech is unbiased

Claims by the Metropolitan police about the absence of bias in its use of live facial recognition (LFR) are not substantiated by a report it cites as backing its case, a leading expert on the technology has said.

- Vikram Dodd

The Met is planning its biggest and most high-profile use of LFR yet this weekend as the Notting Hill carnival takes place in west London.

The Guardian understands that the technology will be deployed at two sites on the approaches to the carnival, with the force insisting on its use despite the Equality and Human Rights Commission saying police use of LFR is unlawful.

Prof Pete Fussey led the only independent academic review of police use of facial recognition and conducted a review for the Met from 2018-19. The Met claims it has reformed its use of LFR after a 2023 study it commissioned from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and says it is now effectively bias-free. But Fussey said: "The claims the Met are making about the absence of bias from the NPL report are not substantiated by the facts in that report."

For LFR to work, the sensitivity of the system can be varied. The more sensitive it is the more people it will detect, but the higher its potential bias on racial, gender and age grounds. Zero is its most sensitive setting and one the least sensitive.