{
  "record": {
    "id": "0f8cf9ad-6d81-4635-bf2f-b0e0e27e8bbd",
    "code": "PAI-0F8CF9AD",
    "force": "Merseyside Police",
    "country": "United Kingdom",
    "country_code": "uk",
    "is_country": true,
    "region": "Merseyside, including Southport and Birkenhead town centres",
    "technology": "Live Facial Recognition",
    "technology_slug": "live-facial-recognition",
    "vendor": "",
    "vendor_slug": "",
    "programme": "",
    "status": "operational",
    "stage": "in-use",
    "evidence": "official",
    "evidence_is_claim": false,
    "since": "December 2025",
    "legal_basis": "Force policy under the Data Protection Act 2018, UK GDPR and the Human Rights Act 1998, following the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice. No dedicated statutory basis.",
    "oversight": "",
    "notes": "The force states plainly on its own transparency page that it \"uses Live Facial Recognition Technology (LFR) to prevent and detect crime and help protect the vulnerable\", and publishes scheduled deployments in advance — Southport town centre on 27 August 2026 and Birkenhead town centre on 5 September 2026.\n\nThe start date is not established. The force page carries forthcoming and recent deployments rather than a full historical register, and the earliest date visible on it is 27 August 2026. Secondary reporting places a first Liverpool city centre deployment in December 2025, but that was not confirmed against a force publication and the field is deliberately left empty rather than filled from an unverified figure.\n\nNo equipment supplier is named on the force page. The page refers to National Physical Laboratory testing of the algorithm without identifying the manufacturer.",
    "source": "Merseyside Police live facial recognition transparency page",
    "source_url": "https://www.merseyside.police.uk/police-forces/merseyside-police/areas/au/about-us/facial-recognition-technology/",
    "last_checked": "2026-09-04",
    "record_url": "https://www.policeainews.com/tracker/record/0f8cf9ad-6d81-4635-bf2f-b0e0e27e8bbd"
  },
  "licence": "https://www.policeainews.com/data#licence"
}