Met Police Uses Facial Recognition at Notting Hill Carnival for Crime Prevention

The Metropolitan Police will deploy live facial recognition (LFR) technology for the first time at the Notting Hill Carnival to enhance safety by identifying individuals wanted for violent crimes, sexual offences, and those subject to sexual harm prevention orders. The cameras will be positioned on the approaches to and exits from the event, not within the carnival boundaries, to scan for knife offenders, missing persons, and others posing public safety risks. The police plan to conduct intelligence-led arrests and searches targeting weapons and drug supply, supported by around 7,000 officers each day during the August Bank Holiday. This initiative comes in response to recent violence at the carnival, including multiple stabbings and deaths in previous years, and follows warnings about potential mass casualty incidents. While authorities assert that biometric data from non-targeted individuals will be deleted immediately, civil liberty groups and campaigners express concerns about the technology’s accuracy, especially regarding minority faces, and potential privacy infringements. Despite these concerns, police and some public safety advocates emphasize that the use of LFR is necessary to prevent serious crime and protect attendees at Europe's largest street festival.