{"id":"AIBD-0835","title":"The High Court found that South Wales Police's AFR Locate facial recognition led to arrests or disposals in 37 cases where other methods had failed","summary":"In September 2019 the High Court found that South Wales Police's live facial recognition had led to arrests or disposals in 37 cases. Existing methods had not been able to locate those people.","date_observed":"2019-09-04","date_basis":"source publication","date_precision":"day","benefit_status":"reported","source_collection":null,"source_entry":null,"account":"South Wales Police trialed AFR Locate, live facial recognition with NEC's NeoFace Watch software, at about 50 events between May 2017 and April 2019. Cameras on a van compared faces with watchlists of 400 to 800 people. A police operator reviewed each possible match before officers intervened. A man who said that the cameras had caught him at two Cardiff deployments challenged them. On 4 September 2019 Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr Justice Swift dismissed the claim. They found that the technology had led to arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods could not locate the person. At Queen Street on 21 December 2017 it made 10 possible matches, of which 8 were true. Two arrests followed. The judges wrote that nobody was wrongly arrested. The figure of 37 comes from police evidence. In August 2020 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal on three grounds, among them that the use was not in accordance with the law. It rejected the proportionality ground.","category":"aggregate result","unexpected":false,"purpose":"NEC built NeoFace Watch to compare faces captured on live CCTV with watchlist images and flag possible matches to an operator.","system":"AFR Locate, using NEC's NeoFace Watch software","model_version":null,"developer":"NEC (now North Gate Public Services (UK) Ltd)","deployer":"South Wales Police","location":"Cardiff and South Wales, United Kingdom","domain":"Policing / public protection","segment":null,"benefit_type":"Reduced Violence","work_activities":["4.A.1.b.1","4.A.1.a.2"],"taxonomy_note":"Arrests of people wanted by the police are read as a reduction in criminal activity. The judgment does not give the offenses.","registry_ids":{},"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"South Wales Police made arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods had not located the person, by the court's account of its evidence."},{"group":"societal","depth":null,"reason":"The judgment does not say what the 37 people were wanted for, so the effect on public safety cannot be established."}],"ai_role":{"status":"unassessed","statement":"The figure of 37 comes from police evidence that the court accepted without a comparison of its own. A police operator reviewed each match before officers acted. The claimant's expert referred to the data sets on which the system is trained."},"evidence":[{"kind":"court document","citation":"High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Divisional Court sitting at Cardiff (Haddon-Cave LJ and Swift J). R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police & Ors [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin), judgment of 4 September 2019. Find Case Law copy.","title":"R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police & Ors [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin)","url":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2019/2341","date":"2019-09-04","written_by":"independent","quote":"However, the evidence demonstrates that, during the present trial period, this new technology has resulted in arrests or disposals in 37 cases where the individual in question had not been capable of location by existing methods."}],"replication":{"produced_by":["Watchlists were built from custody photographs for the purpose of each deployment.","Cameras on a marked van fed live images to the software.","A police operator checked each possible match before officers intervened."],"must_hold":["Each deployment is open to the public and limited in time and place.","Images of people who are not on a watchlist are processed and discarded at once."],"echoes":[]},"paired_incident":null,"headline":"*AFR Locate* led to 37 arrests or disposals in South Wales","metric":"arrests or disposals in 37 cases","comparator":{"against":"Existing methods of locating wanted people","before":"had not been capable of location by existing methods","after":"arrests or disposals in 37 cases","basis":"assumed","quote":"However, the evidence demonstrates that, during the present trial period, this new technology has resulted in arrests or disposals in 37 cases where the individual in question had not been capable of location by existing methods.","url":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2019/2341"},"later":{"status":"litigated","date":"2020-08-11","note":"The Court of Appeal allowed the claimant's appeal on three grounds, including the legal framework for the use. It rejected the ground on proportionality.","quote":"For the reasons we have given this appeal will be allowed on Grounds 1, 3 and 5. We reject Grounds 2 and 4.","url":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2020/1058"},"value":null,"developer_country":"Japan","deployer_country":"United Kingdom","unrated_because":null,"brief_notes":null,"brief":null,"revisions":[{"date":"2026-10-31","change":"Added the record from the finding of the High Court of England and Wales.","source":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2019/2341","editor":"AIBD"}],"confidence":"found","shade":"high","claim_status":"Found by a court","claim_basis":"Sources: one independent court document. The cited evidence includes no independent study or report.","case_jurisdictions":["United Kingdom"],"profile":{"case_id":"AIBD-0835","catalog_version":"1.0.0","source_fingerprint":"1ac32bc4485496d7ecf17f316b2d274dfa3150cccba3a0899724682f5297c29b","collection_refs":[{"collection_id":"aibd","version":"2026-10-31"},{"collection_id":"querist","version":"2026-10-25"},{"collection_id":"viator","version":"2026-10-25"}],"source_ids":["AIBD-0835-source-0001"],"families":{"strategic assessments":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"evaluations":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"monetary observations":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]},"institutional decisions":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"Editorial assignment.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","record_ids":[]}},"fields":{"actors[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"developer":"NEC (now North Gate Public Services (UK) Ltd)","deployer":"South Wales Police"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["developer","deployer"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"actors[].ownership_control":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"ai_contribution":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"ai_relationship":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"category":"aggregate result","ai_role":{"status":"unassessed","statement":"The figure of 37 comes from police evidence that the court accepted without a comparison of its own. A police operator reviewed each match before officers acted. The claimant's expert referred to the data sets on which the system is trained."}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ai_role","category"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].alternatives":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].assessor_date":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].depth":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"South Wales Police made arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods had not located the person, by the court's account of its evidence."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The judgment does not say what the 37 people were wanted for, so the effect on public safety cannot be established."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].display_confidence":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"confidence":"high","evidence_word":"found","claim_status":"Found by a court","basis":"Sources: one independent court document. The cited evidence includes no independent study or report.","interpretation":"Existing display rule preserved; the richer outcome-specific confidence question still needs review."}},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].rationale":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"South Wales Police made arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods had not located the person, by the court's account of its evidence."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The judgment does not say what the 37 people were wanted for, so the effect on public safety cannot be established."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].rubric_version":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].status_basis":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"assessments[].target":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"South Wales Police made arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods had not located the person, by the court's account of its evidence."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The judgment does not say what the 37 people were wanted for, so the effect on public safety cannot be established."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"availability":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"brief":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"case_kind":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"case_links[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].evidence_links":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].evidence_strength":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"answer":"Found by a court. Sources: one independent court document. The cited evidence includes no independent study or report.","evidence_word":"found","claim_status":"Found by a court"}},"provenance":{"kind":"source_review","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":["AIBD-0835-source-0001"],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"review_state":"reviewed","coverage":"complete","display":{"answer":"Found by a court. Sources: one independent court document. The cited evidence includes no independent study or report.","inferred":false}},"claims[].missingness":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"claims[].proposition":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"cross_border_flows[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"decisions[].action_outcome":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].grounds":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].institution_task":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"decisions[].success_criterion":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"institutional decisions"},"deployment_stage":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"structured","data":{"classification":"pilot","answer":"The system was used in a pilot. South Wales Police used AFR Locate in a trial from May 2017 that had not ended when the court ruled.","scope":"The period and activity described in the case."}},"provenance":{"kind":"source_review","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","evidence"],"source_refs":["AIBD-0835-source-0001"],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"review_state":"reviewed","coverage":"complete","display":{"answer":"The system was used in a pilot. South Wales Police used AFR Locate in a trial from May 2017 that had not ended when the court ruled.","inferred":false}},"economics[].amount":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].costs[]":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].counterfactual":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].currency_price_basis":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].gross_net":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].measure_type":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].period_unit":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].realization":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].recipient_payer":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].return_payback":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"economics[].valuation_method":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"monetary observations"},"evaluations[].ai_uplift":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].comparator":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].design":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].effect":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].exposure":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].id":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].measurement_method":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].metric":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].reproduction_materials":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].setting_sample":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"evaluations[].uncertainty_limitations":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"evaluations"},"external_references[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"follow_up[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"later":{"status":"litigated","date":"2020-08-11","note":"The Court of Appeal allowed the claimant's appeal on three grounds, including the legal framework for the use. It rejected the ground on proportionality.","quote":"For the reasons we have given this appeal will be allowed on Grounds 1, 3 and 5. We reject Grounds 2 and 4.","url":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2020/1058"}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["later"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"human_oversight":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"id":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"id":"AIBD-0835"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["id"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"infrastructure_dependencies[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].beneficiaries":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].beneficiary_count":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].benefit_type":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"benefit_type":"Reduced Violence","taxonomy_note":"Arrests of people wanted by the police are read as a reduction in criminal activity. The judgment does not give the offenses."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["benefit_type","taxonomy_note"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].claim":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"account":"South Wales Police trialed AFR Locate, live facial recognition with NEC's NeoFace Watch software, at about 50 events between May 2017 and April 2019. Cameras on a van compared faces with watchlists of 400 to 800 people. A police operator reviewed each possible match before officers intervened. A man who said that the cameras had caught him at two Cardiff deployments challenged them. On 4 September 2019 Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr Justice Swift dismissed the claim. They found that the technology had led to arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods could not locate the person. At Queen Street on 21 December 2017 it made 10 possible matches, of which 8 were true. Two arrests followed. The judges wrote that nobody was wrongly arrested. The figure of 37 comes from police evidence. In August 2020 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal on three grounds, among them that the use was not in accordance with the law. It rejected the proportionality ground.","benefit_type":"Reduced Violence"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","benefit_type"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].distribution":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].duration":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].id":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].stakeholder_group":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"ratings":[{"group":"organizational","depth":2,"reason":"South Wales Police made arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods had not located the person, by the court's account of its evidence."},{"group":"societal","reason":"The judgment does not say what the 37 people were wanted for, so the effect on public safety cannot be established."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["ratings"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].status":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"benefit_status":"reported"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["benefit_status"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].tradeoffs":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"outcomes[].unexpected":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"unexpected":false,"purpose":"NEC built NeoFace Watch to compare faces captured on live CCTV with watchlist images and flag possible matches to an operator."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["unexpected","purpose"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"places[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"location":"Cardiff and South Wales, United Kingdom","developer_country":"Japan","deployer_country":"United Kingdom"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["location","developer_country","deployer_country"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"purpose":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"purpose":"NEC built NeoFace Watch to compare faces captured on live CCTV with watchlist images and flag possible matches to an operator."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["purpose"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"record_dates":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"date_observed":"2019-09-04","date_basis":"source publication","date_precision":"day","revisions":[{"date":"2026-10-31","change":"Added the record from the finding of the High Court of England and Wales.","source":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2019/2341","editor":"AIBD"}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["date_observed","date_basis","date_precision","revisions"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"replication.attempts[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"replication.conditions":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"replication":{"produced_by":["Watchlists were built from custody photographs for the purpose of each deployment.","Cameras on a marked van fed live images to the software.","A police operator checked each possible match before officers intervened."],"must_hold":["Each deployment is open to the public and limited in time and place.","Images of people who are not on a watchlist are processed and discarded at once."],"echoes":[]}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["replication"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"revision_history[]":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"revisions":[{"date":"2026-10-31","change":"Added the record from the finding of the High Court of England and Wales.","source":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2019/2341","editor":"AIBD"}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["revisions"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sector":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"domain":"Policing / public protection"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["domain"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].access_version":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].citation_locator":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"evidence":[{"kind":"court document","citation":"High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Divisional Court sitting at Cardiff (Haddon-Cave LJ and Swift J). R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police & Ors [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin), judgment of 4 September 2019. Find Case Law copy.","title":"R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police & Ors [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin)","url":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2019/2341","date":"2019-09-04","written_by":"independent","quote":"However, the evidence demonstrates that, during the present trial period, this new technology has resulted in arrests or disposals in 37 cases where the individual in question had not been capable of location by existing methods."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].id":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"identifiers","identifiers":["AIBD-0835-source-0001"],"role":"Existing evidence items, in their original order"},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"complete"},"sources[].language":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].relationship":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"evidence":[{"kind":"court document","citation":"High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Divisional Court sitting at Cardiff (Haddon-Cave LJ and Swift J). R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police & Ors [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin), judgment of 4 September 2019. Find Case Law copy.","title":"R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police & Ors [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin)","url":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2019/2341","date":"2019-09-04","written_by":"independent","quote":"However, the evidence demonstrates that, during the present trial period, this new technology has resulted in arrests or disposals in 37 cases where the individual in question had not been capable of location by existing methods."}]}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["evidence"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"sources[].upstream_sources":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"strategic_assessments[]":{"state":"unresolved","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial","family":"strategic assessments"},"summary":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"summary":"In September 2019 the High Court found that South Wales Police's live facial recognition had led to arrests or disposals in 37 cases. Existing methods had not been able to locate those people.","account":"South Wales Police trialed AFR Locate, live facial recognition with NEC's NeoFace Watch software, at about 50 events between May 2017 and April 2019. Cameras on a van compared faces with watchlists of 400 to 800 people. A police operator reviewed each possible match before officers intervened. A man who said that the cameras had caught him at two Cardiff deployments challenged them. On 4 September 2019 Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr Justice Swift dismissed the claim. They found that the technology had led to arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods could not locate the person. At Queen Street on 21 December 2017 it made 10 possible matches, of which 8 were true. Two arrests followed. The judges wrote that nobody was wrongly arrested. The figure of 37 comes from police evidence. In August 2020 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal on three grounds, among them that the use was not in accordance with the law. It rejected the proportionality ground."}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["summary","account"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].autonomy_permissions":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].component_role":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].deployment_configuration":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].inputs_outputs":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].model_name":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].model_version":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].product_name":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"system":"AFR Locate, using NEC's NeoFace Watch software"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["system"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"systems[].provider":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"taxonomy_crosswalks[]":{"state":"unresolved","provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"reason":"This is an explicit unresolved assignment: the sources on record do not settle this question.","review_state":"not_assessed","coverage":"partial"},"title":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"title":"The High Court found that South Wales Police's AFR Locate facial recognition led to arrests or disposals in 37 cases where other methods had failed","headline":"*AFR Locate* led to 37 arrests or disposals in South Wales"}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["title","headline"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"},"version":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"identifiers","identifiers":["eb83e604a75e4a2df648ed22c84deb1506313a17746c3270633abf87155174bd"],"role":"SHA-256 of the complete public record and its assessments"},"provenance":{"kind":"curatorial","basis":"SHA-256 of the public record, its assessments, and its displayed answers and notes, excluding its own identifier and the derived coverage summary.","record_fields":[],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"complete"},"workflow":{"state":"value_present","value":{"kind":"record_fields","fields":{"account":"South Wales Police trialed AFR Locate, live facial recognition with NEC's NeoFace Watch software, at about 50 events between May 2017 and April 2019. Cameras on a van compared faces with watchlists of 400 to 800 people. A police operator reviewed each possible match before officers intervened. A man who said that the cameras had caught him at two Cardiff deployments challenged them. On 4 September 2019 Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr Justice Swift dismissed the claim. They found that the technology had led to arrests or disposals in 37 cases where existing methods could not locate the person. At Queen Street on 21 December 2017 it made 10 possible matches, of which 8 were true. Two arrests followed. The judges wrote that nobody was wrongly arrested. The figure of 37 comes from police evidence. In August 2020 the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal on three grounds, among them that the use was not in accordance with the law. It rejected the proportionality ground.","replication":{"produced_by":["Watchlists were built from custody photographs for the purpose of each deployment.","Cameras on a marked van fed live images to the software.","A police operator checked each possible match before officers intervened."],"must_hold":["Each deployment is open to the public and limited in time and place.","Images of people who are not on a watchlist are processed and discarded at once."],"echoes":[]}}},"provenance":{"kind":"legacy_record","basis":"Editorial assignment.","record_fields":["account","replication"],"source_refs":[]},"review_state":"record_mapped","coverage":"partial"}},"summary":{"total":91,"addressed":91,"known":29,"reviewed":2,"reviewed_complete":2,"reviewed_partial":0,"record_mapped":27,"review_not_assessed":62,"not_assessed":0,"complete":false,"by_state":{"value_present":29,"not_reported":0,"unresolved":62,"not_assessed":0,"not_applicable":0,"withheld":0,"source_unavailable":0}}},"presentation_version":"1cf74dbdb9d66052c859d1dd71ee9c12a8d8533014aac0f6591ea5545cd212a2"}
