News -
Arrest landmark for Met officers using Live Facial Recognition
More than 1,000 wanted criminals have now been arrested by the Metropolitan Police Service using Live Facial Recognition (LFR), including paedophiles, rapists and violent robbers.
Among these arrests are more than 100 individuals allegedly involved in serious violence against women and girls (VAWG) offences such as strangulation, stalking, domestic abuse, and rape.
The Met is taking the lead in utilising this technology to make London safer, using it to identify and apprehend offenders that pose a significant risk to its communities. Of those arrested, a total of 773 have been charged or cautioned.
These offenders may otherwise have remained unlawfully at large, posing a continued threat to the public and taking up much more officer time to locate them.
LFR is helping to apprehend wanted criminals in London and catch those who are breaking bail conditions without the need for extensive police resources or frequent visits.
Lindsey Chiswick, lead for LFR at the Met and nationally, said:
“This milestone of 1,000 arrests is a demonstration of how cutting-edge technology can make London safer by removing dangerous offenders from our streets.
“Live Facial Recognition is a powerful tool, which is helping us deliver justice for victims, including those who have been subjected to horrendous offences, such as rape and serious assault.
“It is not only saving our officers’ valuable time but delivering faster, more accurate results to catch criminals – helping us be more efficient than ever before.”
Each deployment is made up of an LFR team as well as a number of neighbourhood officers in the vicinity to talk to those identified and make necessary arrests.
LFR interventions don’t always result in arrest. The tool is often used to stop people who are flagged from the watchlist who have conditions imposed by the courts. These might include registered sex offenders and those convicted of stalking, among others.
These interventions are crucial as they are another way of police ensuring people are adhering to their conditions. In turn, communities are kept safer as a result.
The technology allows officers to catch offenders breaking their conditions which otherwise may have gone unnoticed. This is a unique and revolutionary way of policing.
In London, a breach of conditions has been identified 21% of the time.
In total, 93 registered sex offenders have been arrested by Met officers as part of the 1,035 arrests seen since the start of 2024 using LFR.
Case studies
On Friday, 10 January, a police van with LFR was operating in the Denmark Hill area, when cameras alerted officers to 73-year-old David Cheneler as being a registered sex offender. Upon being stopped by officers, he was found to be with a six-year-old girl.
Further checks confirmed he was in breach of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO ), which prevented him from being alone with a child under the age of 14.
He was arrested and taken into custody.
David Cheneler, 73 (05.04.52), of Lewisham, appeared at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday, 20 May, where he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
He pleaded guilty at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 13 January to breaching the conditions of his SOPO, as well as possessing an offensive weapon.
On Friday, 10 January 2025, police were called to a report of a robbery at a restaurant on Uxbridge Road, Hayes.
Adenola Akindutire posed as a buyer of a rolex watch on Facebook marketplace. When he met up with the seller, Akindtire produced a machete, attacked the seller, and stole the watch. The victim, a man in his 30s, sustained life-changing injuries.
Akindutire was then linked to another incident, with similar circumstances, on Monday, 16 December 2024.
Akindutire was released on bail.
On Tuesday, 15 April 2025, Akindtire was stopped during a Live Facial Recognition operation in Stratford and arrested. He produced a false passport in an attempt to evade the arrest.
Comparison with previous custody images confirmed his true identity and he was arrested. Akindutire could have otherwise evaded arrest and still be unlawfully at large if it wasn’t for the LFR alert.
Akindutire, 22 (15.04.2003), of no fixed address, was charged and pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted robbery, grievous bodily harm, possession of a false identity document and two counts of possession of a bladed article when he appeared at Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday, 14 May 2025.
He is due to be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 22 August 2025.
On Friday, 23 May, an LFR deployment in Dalston Kingsland alerted when Darren Dubarry walked past.
Dubarry was wanted for theft and when searched by officers at the deployment, was in possession of designer clothing which was stolen from Stratford earlier that day.
The use of LFR in this case not only identified a wanted offender but caught him in the act of committing another offence. He was arrested by officers and later charged.
Dubarry, 50 (30.07.1974), of Stewart Road, Stratford, pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods on Saturday, 24 May at East London Magistrates’ Court, where he was issued with a £120 fine, and a £48 victim surcharge.
How does LFR work?
The cameras capture live footage of people passing by and compare their faces against a bespoke watchlist of wanted offenders.
If a match is detected, the system generates an alert. An officer will then review the match and decide if they wish to speak with the individual.
Met officers conduct further checks, such as reviewing court orders or other relevant information, to determine if the person is a suspect.
Importantly, an alert from the system does not automatically result in an arrest - officers make a decision about whether further action is necessary following engagement.
The Met has also implemented robust safeguards in its use of LFR.
For example, if a member of the public walks past an LFR camera and is not wanted by the police, their biometrics are immediately and permanently deleted.
The Met continues to engage with residents and councillors across London.
These sessions provide an open platform for discussion, allowing The Met to explain how LFR works, the intelligence-led process behind deployments, and the safeguards in place to protect people's rights to privacy.
For more on the Met’s use of LFR, click here: Live Facial Recognition | Metropolitan Police
A new way for Londoners to hear about policing in their area is being rolled out by the Met.
Local officers will use Met Engage to provide crime prevention advice, updates on ongoing incidents and investigations, and information about successful outcomes and operations.
