AI system
- System
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Live Facial Recognition (LFR) cameras mounted on a Metropolitan Police van
- Model
-
Not assessed
- Release
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Not assessed
- Provider
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Not assessed
- Role
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Not assessed
- Configuration
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Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
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A van-mounted LFR deployment at Denmark Hill in January 2025 and a face the system was able to identify. The match alerted officers on the spot. Officers who stopped him at once and found the child and the lock knife hidden in his belt buckle. They knew the terms of his 2019 Sexual Offences Prevention Order. A court record of the order and his 2010 convictions. This turned the stop into a guilty plea for breaching the order and possessing an offensive weapon.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
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The LFR system did the identification. Cameras on the back of a van at Denmark Hill matched Cheneler's face and alerted officers, Southwark News reports. Finding the child and the knife, the arrest, the charges and the sentence were human and judicial acts. The offense itself existed only because of his 2019 order. The counterfactual is the Met's own hedge. DC Adam Pearce said it is possible that, had he not been identified, Cheneler could have gone on to abuse the child. No allegation about this occasion is reported. The readable source does not name the vendor or algorithm. The Met's press release is not among the sources.
- AI contribution
-
The LFR system did the identification. Cameras on the back of a van at Denmark Hill matched Cheneler's face and alerted officers, Southwark News reports. Finding the child and the knife, the arrest, the charges and the sentence were human and judicial acts. The offense itself existed only because of his 2019 order. The counterfactual is the Met's own hedge. DC Adam Pearce said it is possible that, had he not been identified, Cheneler could have gone on to abuse the child. No allegation about this occasion is reported. The readable source does not name the vendor or algorithm. The Met's press release is not among the sources.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
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Not assessed
- Benefit
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Kingston Crown Court jailed him for two years
- Category
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Reduced Violence
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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People. Society.
- Beneficiaries
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Not assessed
- Reach
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Not assessed
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
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Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
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Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
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Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
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Kingston Crown Court jailed him for two years
- Comparison
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Assumed alternative: not being identified (no live facial recognition check)
- Results
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Assumed comparison. Reference: it’s possible if he hadn’t been identified using this technology, he could have gone on to abuse this child. Result: his face was identified by Live Facial Recognition cameras attached to the back of a van, alerting officers to his presence.
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
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Not assessed
- Denominators
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Not assessed
- Materials for replication
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Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
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Not assessed
- Amount
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Not assessed
- Currency and prices
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Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
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Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
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Not assessed
- Gross or net
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Not assessed
- Included costs
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Method
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Not assessed
- Return and payback
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Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
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Operator:
Metropolitan Police Service. - Jurisdictions
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Benefit: London,
United Kingdom. Operator: United Kingdom. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
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Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
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Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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The person must be known to the system and subject to conditions that make his presence with a child an offense. The benefit depends on the prior order, not on the camera alone. Officers must verify the match and intervene immediately. The child was found only because he was stopped on the spot. The deployment must be lawful and proportionate. The OECD Monitor files this same event under human-rights, psychological, reputational and public-interest harm types. The protective benefit therefore sits beside a contested surveillance practice.
- Replication attempts
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Not assessed
- Later findings
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4 July 2025. Six weeks after the sentencing the Met announced more than 1,000 LFR arrests since the start of 2024, with 773 people charged or cautioned and 93 registered sex offenders identified, and published Cheneler's case as one of its case studies.
- Availability
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Not assessed
- Institutional decision
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Not assessed
- Grounds
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Not assessed
- Action and result
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Not assessed
- Success criterion
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Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
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AIBD-0132-source-0001–0003
- Citations
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Numbered references below.
- Language
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Not assessed
- Source relationships
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Independent
- Original evidence
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Not assessed
- Access and versions
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Not assessed
- Supported findings
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Not assessed
- Evidence links
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Not assessed
- Evidence strength
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Not assessed
- Missing evidence
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Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
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People. Society.
- Depth
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People: 2. Society: 1.
- Reasons
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People: A six-year-old girl was taken out of unsupervised contact with a man convicted of 15 counts of indecent assault on a female under 16. He had collected her from school twice before and was carrying a lock knife. Material for one child, though the Met itself puts the averted abuse as possible rather than established. Society: The public: a registered sex offender in breach of his order was jailed for two years. The Met presents this as removing a dangerous offender from the streets. The OECD Monitor tags the same event with human-rights, psychological, reputational and public-interest harm types. The wider benefit is therefore contested.
- Observed or intended
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Not assessed
- Rubric
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Not assessed
- Assessor and date
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Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
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Not assessed
- Fill
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Independently reported
Entry details
- Kind
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Not assessed
- Related entries
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Not assessed
- Field
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Policing / public protection. Law enforcement use of live facial recognition in public places.
- Purpose
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The Met deploys Live Facial Recognition cameras on police vans to identify people of interest and alert officers. Its LFR lead, Lindsey Chiswick, describes the aim as using data and technology to identify offenders that pose a risk to our communities. Identifying a sex offender in breach of his order was that purpose.
- Dates
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Date basis unassessed: 2025 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
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SHA-256: 7223682fc268…
References
- Other identifiers
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oecd_aim: 2025-05-20-368b.
- Category mappings
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Not assessed
- Brief
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Not assessed
- Revisions
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6 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.
Sources
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News report Independent author
Clarke I (2025). Sex offender caught in Denmark Hill thanks to facial recognition cameras. Southwark News, 21 May 2025.
was caught in January in Denmark Hill after his face was identified by Live Facial Recognition cameras attached to the back of a van
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News report Independent author
Biometric Update (2025). London police mark 1K arrests through live facial recognition. Biometric Update, 4 July 2025.
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Other Independent author
OECD.AI (2025). Live Facial Recognition Apprehends Sex Offender in Breach. OECD AI Incidents and Hazards Monitor, incident 2025-05-20-368b.
prevented possible harm to the child and others