United Kingdom, Merseyside, including Southport and Birkenhead town centres
Merseyside Police
Live Facial Recognition
OperationalOfficial publicationPAI-0F8CF9AD
- Body
- Merseyside Police
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Area
- Merseyside, including Southport and Birkenhead town centres
- Technology
- Live Facial Recognition
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- 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
- Not stated in the source
- Evidence
- Official publication
Police force, government department or public body publication - Source
- Merseyside Police live facial recognition transparency page
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-0F8CF9AD
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.
The 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.
No equipment supplier is named on the force page. The page refers to National Physical Laboratory testing of the algorithm without identifying the manufacturer.
Live Facial Recognition elsewhere in United Kingdom
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Transport PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomLondon rail and Underground network | NEC (NeoFace M40) | 2026 | Trial | |
| Metropolitan PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomLondon | NEC (NeoFace) | 2020 | Operational | |
| South Wales PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomWales | NEC (NeoFace) | 2017 | Operational | |
| Essex PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomForce area | Corsight AI (Apollo 4), with Digital Barriers | 2024 | Operational | |
| West Yorkshire PoliceLive and Retrospective Facial Recognition | United KingdomForce area | Not specified in source | 2025 | Operational | |
| Greater Manchester PoliceLive and Retrospective Facial Recognition | United KingdomForce area | Not specified in source | 2025 | Operational | |
| Police ScotlandLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomScotland | Not applicable -- not yet deployed | 2024 | Proposed | |
| Thames Valley PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomThames Valley, first deployed in Oxford city centre | — | 2025 | Operational | |
| Northamptonshire PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomNorthamptonshire | — | 2023 | Trial | |
| Bedfordshire PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomBedfordshire | NEC (NeoFace Watch), according to NEC | 2025 | Operational | |
| Surrey PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomSurrey | NEC Software | 2025 | Operational | |
| Sussex PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomSussex | NEC Software | 2025 | Operational |