Surveillance State: Two UK Cities Implement Live Facial Recognition Cameras In Country First To Crackdown On Crime

Under the new pilot, while the cameras will be permanent fixtures on furniture, they will only be switched on when officers are using the technology in the area.

Croydon and Cardiff, two metropolitan cities in the United Kingdom, recently installed live facial recognition (LFR) cameras in a country first, prompting security and privacy concerns.

In February, Cardiff officials got the ball rolling when the city debuted the cameras during this year’s Six Nations rugby championship. Five cameras were established throughout the city center in “Zones of Safety,” scanning faces searching for those already on a watchlist, per the South Wales Police.

The announcement was touted as a method of deterring crime in advance, but also attempted to provide government transparency. If the trial is seen as successful, the police announced it would look to implement it in more areas.

“We understand the concerns which are raised about the use of facial recognition technology but it is important to remember that it has never resulted in a wrongful arrest and there have been no false alerts for several years as the technology and our understanding has evolved,” says Assistant Chief Constable Trudi Meyrick.

These cameras, according to the U.K.’s Big Brother Watch, this LFR zone included “places of worship, a family court, abortion and health clinics, and other sites where anyone would want their right to privacy respected. This represented a gross violation of privacy of anyone who had reason to be in Cardiff on a busy Saturday,” the outlet noted.

Biometric Update also reported that “In December, the police unit became among the first in the UK to use mobile apps with facial recognition. The so-called operator-initiated facial recognition (OIFR) allows law enforcement to photograph a person’s face with a mobile phone and match it to a predetermined database.”

After trials proved to be successful, the London Metropolitan Police Service recently announced they are installing the country’s first permanent network of fixed LFR cameras in the Croydon town centre.

The BBC reported: Under the new pilot, while the cameras will be permanent fixtures on furniture, they will only be switched on when officers are using the technology in the area.

Big Brother Watch said in a statement:

The move represents an alarming expansion of the surveillance state, and a further slide towards a dystopian nightmare that could quickly take hold across the UK. It also underscores the urgent need for legislative safeguards on LFR, which to date has not been addressed in any parliamentary legislation. Police forces have been left to write their own policies on how they plan to use LFR, and can choose how and when to employ it. For its part, the Met’s “LFR watchlist” expands beyond those suspected of criminal activity, including vulnerable persons and even victims of crimes.

Mitch Carr, the MET’s neighborhood policing superintendent, told local leaders in a statement:

"I am currently working with the central team to install fixed LFR cameras in Croydon town center.

"This will mean our use of LFR technology will be far more embedded as a 'business as usual' approach rather than relying on the availability of the LFR vans that are in high demand across London. The end result will see cameras covering a defined area and will give us much more flexibility around the days and times we can run the operations."

Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, says the move will be used to better stop crime.

"Using fixed cameras is the logical next step in the rollout of this technology, which will ensure even more wanted criminals get caught.

"Over the past year the mobile vans have caught around 200 wanted criminals in Croydon including at least two rapists who would not otherwise have been caught. Those few people opposing this technology need to explain why they don't want those wanted criminals to be arrested."

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

There is nothing more permanent than a temporary government program.

Give an inch, they take a mile. The reality is that even though many British citizens recognize they are living in a surveillance state (as seen in the video), everyone is too passive to do anything to stop it. But this is a country that is now criminalizing “ninja swords” (including toy replicas) and punishing white men in court more harshly for simply being white.

This will spread like wildfire, no doubt, as this is needed in order for the social credit score system, CBDCs and tokenization to function optimally.

Jeremiah 6:6 For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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