AI system
- System
-
Cheshire Constabulary facial recognition system (retrospective)
- Model
-
Not assessed
- Release
-
Not assessed
- Application developer
-
Not named in the sources
- Role
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Not assessed
- Configuration
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Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
-
Not assessed
- Workflow
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A usable CCTV still of an unknown suspect. A custody-image database containing the suspect. Officers able to corroborate the match through patrol and search.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
-
The retrospective face match supplied the suspect's identity from CCTV. The arrest arose from a later patrol sighting, and the conviction rested on seized drugs and phone messages. Sources are the deploying force's release and a local newspaper quoting the named officer. The vendor, match score and any false-match safeguards are not stated.
- AI contribution
-
The retrospective face match supplied the suspect's identity from CCTV. The arrest arose from a later patrol sighting, and the conviction rested on seized drugs and phone messages. Sources are the deploying force's release and a local newspaper quoting the named officer. The vendor, match score and any false-match safeguards are not stated.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
-
Not assessed
- Benefit
-
jailed Hughes (18) for 28 months and Potter (19) for 34 months
- Category
-
Reduced Violence
- Status
-
Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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Society.
- Beneficiaries
-
Not assessed
- Reach
-
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
-
Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
-
Not assessed
- Study design
-
Not assessed
- Measurement
-
Not assessed
- Setting and sample
-
Not assessed
- Measures
-
jailed Hughes (18) for 28 months and Potter (19) for 34 months
- Comparison
-
Assumed alternative: conventional identification of a suspect who was not known locally
- Results
-
Assumed comparison. Reference: Hughes was not known in the Northwich area. Result: we were quickly able to identify him as a suspect.
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
-
Not assessed
- Denominators
-
Not assessed
- Materials for replication
-
Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
-
crack cocaine seized from Hughes (99 wraps, approximate street value)
- Amount
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£990
- Currency and prices
-
Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
-
Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
-
Cheshire Constabulary's Northwich Proactive Policing Team (seized from Keenan Hughes)
- Gross or net
-
Not assessed
- Included costs
-
Not assessed
- Comparison
-
Not assessed
- Method
-
Not assessed
- Return and payback
-
Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
-
Developer: Not named in the sources. Operator: Cheshire Constabulary, Northwich Proactive Policing Unit.
- Jurisdictions
-
Benefit: Northwich,
United Kingdom. Operator: United Kingdom. - Ownership and control
-
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 suspect must have a prior custody image. Lawful retrospective use of facial recognition. Corroborating evidence beyond the match.
- Replication attempts
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Not assessed
- Later findings
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1 July 2024. Both men were sentenced at Chester Crown Court on 1 July 2024, Hughes to 28 months and Potter to 34 months.
- 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
-
Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
-
AIBD-0232-source-0001–0004
- Citations
-
Numbered references below.
- Language
-
Not assessed
- Source relationships
-
Operator, 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
-
Society.
- Depth
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Society: 2.
- Reasons
-
Society: Two county lines dealers convicted and 99 wraps of crack cocaine and two knives taken off the street, per the force and the court outcome.
- 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
-
Not assessed
- Fill
-
Independently reported
Entry details
- Kind
-
Not assessed
- Related entries
-
Not assessed
- Field
-
Policing / drug supply. Government.
- Purpose
-
Identify unknown suspects by comparing CCTV images against police custody image databases.
- Dates
-
Date basis unassessed: 2024 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
-
SHA-256: 0f073ec2418c…
References
- Other identifiers
-
Not assessed
- Category mappings
-
Not assessed
- Brief
-
Not assessed
- Revisions
-
5 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.
Sources
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News report Independent author
Rob Goulding, The Leader (Leader Live), 2 Jul 2024
Hughes was not known in the Northwich area, but thanks to the CCTV footage and facial recognition technology, we were quickly able to identify him as a suspect.
-
News report Independent author
Deeside.com (2 Jul 2024). Facial recognition technology helps to identify Deeside drug dealer (reproduces Cheshire Constabulary's release and PC Dean Butterworth's quotes).
-
Press release Deployer
Cheshire Constabulary, news release, 2 Jul 2024
The image was submitted to the force facial recognition system and came through as a match to a man called Keenan Hughes from Connah’s Quay.
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Registry label Independent author
OECD AI Incidents Monitor, incident 2024-07-02-ee42
Its use directly led to the arrest and conviction of individuals involved in drug dealing, which is a harm to communities.