Chiswick Hails 173 Croydon Facial Recognition Arrests in Pilot
Metropolitan Police said its croydon facial recognition arrests pilot in Croydon produced 173 arrests over six months, after officers used static live facial recognition cameras during 24 separate operations from October 2025 to March 2026.
The force released the results on 13 May 2026 and said it would keep using static cameras in Croydon as part of regular deployments. Lindsey Chiswick, the national and Met lead for live facial recognition, said the results show why the technology is a powerful tool when used carefully, openly and in the right places.
Lindsey Chiswick Croydon results
Chiswick said, "These results show why live facial recognition is such a powerful tool when it’s used carefully, openly and in the right places." She added, "This technology is helping us find people wanted by the courts, identify serious offenders quickly and focus our resources where they make the biggest impact, all with exceptional accuracy."
The arrests included people wanted for kidnap, rape and serious sexual assault. The operation also led to 37 arrests for breaches of court-imposed conditions, giving the pilot a mix of serious criminal cases and enforcement of existing legal restrictions.
Croydon high street cameras
The cameras were mounted on existing street furniture at two locations at the north and south ends of Croydon’s high street. Officers activated them only when they were present on the ground, and more than 470,000 people walked past the camera during the pilot.
The Met said there was one false alert during the six-month period, and that no one has ever been arrested as a result of a false alert from live facial recognition. The force said 61 per cent of the offences linked to the arrests were committed in Croydon.
Croydon pilot crime figures
The Metropolitan Police said crime in the area fell by 10.5 per cent compared with the same period last year, while violence against women and girls offences fell by 21 per cent. Those figures sit alongside the arrest total, which works out at one arrest every 35 minutes across the pilot.
For people using Croydon’s high street, the practical effect is that the cameras were not fixed at one van-based site but placed at two ends of the same shopping area and switched on only for deployments. The Met says that setup will continue, with static cameras remaining part of regular live facial recognition operations in Croydon.
