Police Plan Five-Fold Expansion of Live Facial Recognition Tech in ‘Panopticon’ Push

Police in England and Wales are preparing a major expansion of live facial recognition, with the number of surveillance vans set to increase five-fold.

Under the plan, up to 50 live facial-recognition  (LFR) vans could be made available across police forces, significantly widening the technology’s use in public spaces. Police say the rollout is intended to help identify violent and sexual offenders, speeding up arrests and investigations.

The expansion follows remarks by Shabana Mahmood, who is the UK’s Home Secretary.

In an interview last week with Tony Blair, Mahmood outlined her vision for the criminal justice system, saying:

“When I was in justice, my ultimate vision for that part of the criminal justice system was to achieve, by means of AI and technology, what Jeremy Bentham tried to do with his Panopticon. That is that the eyes of the state can be on you at all times.”

But who is this Jeremy Bentham and what is a Panopticon? 

Well, Mahmood has only gone and found inspiration for an 18th-century prison design that has since become a powerful symbol of total surveillance.

Bentham’s Panopticon was built around the idea of constant, unseen observation.

From a central inspection tower, a prison inspector could look into cells at any time — and even speak to inmates through an elaborate network of “conversation tubes.” while prisoners themselves would never be able to see the inspector.

Assuming the omnipresent governor was always watching, Bentham believed this “new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example” would compel prisoners to regulate their own behaviour in order to avoid punishment.

Alongside live facial recognition, the government says police will also roll out new artificial-intelligence tools capable of identifying suspects using CCTV, doorbell cameras, and mobile-phone footage submitted by the public.

Last week, the Met said that for the first time in London, LFR cameras were mounted onto existing structures, such as lamp posts, allowing officers to run deployments without the need for a van.

British police agencies are also exploring a new class of so-called “inferential” surveillance systems, technologies that go beyond identification and attempt to interpret behaviour, stress levels, and even emotional cues.

So Minority Report. Brain warfare continues.