100 arrests following new Live Facial Recognition pilot in Croydon

More than 100 wanted criminals have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police, within the first three months of a pioneering Live Facial Recognition (LFR) pilot in Croydon.

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.

This has led to more efficient deployments, with an arrest being made on average every 34 minutes when in use.

Of those arrested, a third were for violence against women and girls offences, such as strangulation and sexual assault. Others include recall to prison, burglary and possession of offensive weapon.

New figures released by the Met today shows the pilot, which ran from October, has helped drive down crime in Fairfield Ward, Croydon by 12%, such as retail and violent crime as well as sexual offences.

Those arrested in Croydon include:

• A 36-year-old woman who has been unlawfully at large for over 20 years. She was wanted for failing to appear at court for an assault in 2004.
• A 37-year-old Registered Sex Offender who was found in possession of an unregistered mobile phone and having access to social media, a breach of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
• A man aged 27, who was wanted on suspicion of kidnap.

Lindsey Chiswick, the Met and national lead for live facial recognition, said:

“The increase in LFR deployments across crime hotspots in London is driven by its proven impact and success — with more than 1,700 dangerous offenders taken off London’s streets since the start of 2024, including those wanted for rape and child abuse.

“This is why we are trialling a new and innovative pilot in Croydon. It allows us to explore a different way of using facial recognition by operating it remotely and more efficiently.

“The amount of arrests we have made in just 13 deployments shows the technology is already making an impact and helping to make Croydon safer. Public support remains strong, with 85% of Londoners backing the use of LFR to keep them safe.”

Arrests using LFR are being made faster too. The average time to locate wanted individuals has reduced by more than 50% compared with van-based deployments. We already know LFR is significantly quicker at locating wanted offenders that normal police tactics such as door-to-door enquiries.

Three quarters of those arrested reside in Croydon, which demonstrates how the Met is using LFR to target resources in areas with higher crime rates, helping to keep Croydon residents safe from those who pose the greatest risk.

Case Studies

On Tuesday, 7 October 2025, Nilton Darame (06.09.00), 25, of Loughborough Street, Lambeth was alerted by the static cameras in Croydon.

Darame was found to be in breach of tag conditions, in relation to an intentional strangulation and two counts of assault on an emergency worker on Monday, 8 September 2025 and arrested.

He was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday, 8 January to 18 months’ imprisonment.

A month later, at a static deployment on Friday, 21 November 2025, Kastriot Krrashi, (05.11.90), 35, of Dingwall Road, Croydon, was stopped by officers for being wanted on suspicion of breaching his conditions as a registered sex offender.

He was arrested and appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday, 16 January.

About the pilot

The pilot uses LFR cameras mounted on existing street furniture in two locations at the north and south ends of the high street.

The system operates in the same way as van-based deployments, but the camera feeds are monitored remotely. This frees up vans for use elsewhere and expands the Met’s overall LFR capability.

Cameras are only activated when officers are present and conducting a deployment.

Specialist LFR officers and neighbourhood teams remain on the ground throughout every operation to engage with the public and respond to alerts.

Each deployment uses a bespoke, intelligence-led watchlist created no more than 24 hours beforehand, in line with policy. This is then deleted immediately after the deployment concludes.

Croydon was selected due to its status as a crime hotspot and the success of previous deployments. There are currently no plans to extend the pilot to other areas.

Since the start of 2024, LFR deployments in Croydon has led to 249 arrests. Of those arrests, 193 have since been charged or cautioned.

The pilot will undergo an evaluation in the coming months to assess its effectiveness.

The Met continues to run engagement sessions with Croydon residents and councillors to explain how LFR works, outline the intelligence-led approach behind deployments, and set out the safeguards in place to protect privacy and rights.