Britain Turns to Big Brother Facial Recognition Under Guise of Fighting Knife Crime

Ministers are rolling out live facial recognition cameras in Britain’s knife crime hotspots, raising fears that ordinary citizens are going to be swept up yet again into a growing surveillance state.

The Home Office announced on Nov. 2 that its new No Place for Knives campaign will operate in Westminster and Croydon in London, as well as Birmingham city centre.

Buried in the report is that authorities will use live facial recognition (LFR).

Live facial recognition systems can spot wanted individuals in crowded public spaces.

The Met says LFR cameras are focused on a specific area, when people pass through that area their images are streamed directly to the Live Facial Recognition system and compared to a watchlist.

If you walk through a locations where they are doing this, your “facial biometric data” is processed. Authorities claim that this is then deleted.

According to the Home Office announcement, the measures are intended to deter people carrying knives and help police target those considered most likely to commit serious violence.

The campaign will publicise increased police activity also including improved metal detection, rapid-response e-bikes and additional foot patrols.

Ministers claim knife crime has fallen by 11 percent nationally since the last general election, while knife-related homicides have dropped by 25 percent over the same period.

London has seen a 14 percent reduction in knife crime, according to the government.

But the latest campaign highlights Britain’s increasing reliance on surveillance technology to tackle serious crime.

The technology remains controversial.

During a parliamentary debate about facial recognition, Lord Strasburger, chair of Big Brother Watch criticised the widespread scanning of innocent people and questioned whether sufficient parliamentary safeguards existed.

“It is as if you have a barcode on your forehead that can be read without your knowledge.”

Will the tech be used for actually to stop knife crime or will it just be yet another loss of civil liberties?