United Kingdom, London
Metropolitan Police
Retrospective facial recognition, supplied by Northgate Public Services (NEC group), per MOPAC decision PCD 1008
OperationalOfficial publicationPAI-E4B3421F
- Body
- Metropolitan Police
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Area
- London
- Technology
- Retrospective facial recognition
- Supplier
- Northgate Public Services (NEC group), per MOPAC decision PCD 1008
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- Not known
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- The Met says that where the system indicates a match a human reviews it and decides. The MOPAC decision said a data protection impact assessment was required and that the London Policing Ethics Panel was being consulted.
- Evidence
- Official publication
Police force, government department or public body publication - Source
- Metropolitan Police facial recognition web page; MOPAC decision PCD 1008
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-E4B3421F
Notes
The Met's facial recognition web page says it has completed the initial implementation of its new retrospective facial recognition system and is running it as a "Minimum Viable Product" with reduced capabilities, for example searching only some of the custody image database. It is used on still images or video of unknown persons of interest from CCTV, mobile phones or the public. The page gives no start date or usage figures. MOPAC decision PCD 1008 awarded a retrospective facial recognition software contract to Northgate Public Services, up to £3,084,000 over a term of up to four years, with go-live planned for the last quarter of 2021/22. A Met freedom of information response (01.FOI.23.034648) states that the Met has access to the Police National Database and names Cognitec as the software manufacturer in that context.
Other systems used by Metropolitan Police
| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan PoliceOperator-Initiated Facial Recognition (handheld) | United KingdomLondon; West Yorkshire and Thames Valley reported | Home Office-supported deployment | 2026 | Trial | |
| Metropolitan PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomLondon | NEC (NeoFace) | 2020 | Operational | |
| Metropolitan PoliceMobile device extraction (Cellebrite) | United KingdomLondon | Cellebrite | 2018 | Operational | |
| Metropolitan PolicePolice Data Integration and Link Analysis Platforms | United KingdomLondon | Palantir Technologies | 2025 | Trial | |
| Metropolitan PoliceMicrosoft Copilot Chat (generative AI) | United KingdomLondon | Microsoft | — | Operational | |
| Metropolitan PoliceAI-assisted evidence translation | United KingdomLondon | — | — | Operational | |
| Metropolitan PoliceAI-assisted video redaction | United KingdomLondon | — | — | Operational | |
| Metropolitan PoliceStalking Threat Assessment Centre machine learning triage | United KingdomLondon | — | — | Operational | |
| Metropolitan PoliceAI drafting of witness statements from video interviews | United KingdomLondon | — | — | Paused | |
| Metropolitan PoliceGangs Violence Matrix (individual risk and harm scoring database) | United KingdomLondon | — | 2012 | Discontinued | |
| Metropolitan PoliceAI video analytics for reviewing CCTV in investigations | United KingdomLondon | — | — | Operational |
Retrospective facial recognition elsewhere in United Kingdom
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gwent PoliceRetrospective Facial Recognition | United KingdomForce area | Not specified in source | 2021 | Operational | |
| Leicestershire PoliceRetrospective Facial Recognition | United KingdomForce area | NEC, according to NEC | 2014 | Operational | |
| West Yorkshire PoliceFace Reveal (match suggestions for CCTV images before a facial recognition search) | United KingdomWest Yorkshire | — | — | In development | |
| Northumbria PoliceRetrospective facial recognition | United KingdomNorthumbria | — | — | Operational | |
| South Wales PoliceRetrospective facial recognition | United KingdomSouth Wales | — | 2017 | Operational | |
| National Crime AgencyRetrospective facial recognition solution (request for information) | United Kingdom | — | — | Proposed |