UK facial recognition trial sees fugitive drug dealer caught after 13 years

A man, who has been on the run since 2012 under a European arrest warrant for assaulting a police officer with a weapon and drug dealing in Poland, has been arrested thanks to new facial recognition technology being trialled in the UK.

South Wales and Gwent Police are the first forces in the UK to utilise the operator-initiated facial recognition (OIFR) app, which enables them to identify individuals almost instantly at the press of a button.

The app is useful for identifying individuals who may have provided false details or refused to provide any, and it can also help identify those unable to provide details due to vulnerability, unconsciousness, or death.

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In South Wales, 50 searches have been carried out using the app, leading to 10 arrests, two people being handed a court summons, two identified for non-criminal matters, and six cases that required no further action.

In Gwent, the app has been used six times, resulting in three matches. Two were related to safety concerns, and one led to the arrest of a man who had given false details to officers, reports Wales Online.

The app correctly identified him as a wanted individual for shoplifting, assault, and a motoring offence. He was subsequently charged and convicted.

One significant case in South Wales saw a man in Cardiff identified through the app who was wanted under a European arrest warrant for drug dealing and assaulting a police officer with a weapon in Poland, dating back to 2012. The 38-year-old man was remanded in custody to Westminster magistrates' court.

South Wales and Gwent forces' Inspector Ben Gwyer, the lead on facial recognition technology, said: "These examples have allowed officers to quickly identify individuals who have refused to give details or given false details before taking appropriate action depending on the circumstances.

"These have included individuals who were found in suspicious circumstances and identified through the use of the app having given false details."

In cases where someone is wanted by police for a criminal offence, it secures their quick arrest and detention. Cases of mistaken identity are easily resolved and without the necessity to visit a police station or custody suite.

South Wales Police says that photographs taken using the app are never retained and officers receive specific guidance in relation to using the app in private places such as houses, schools, medical facilities and places of worship in order to balance the needs of policing against the right to privacy of the individual.

Inspector Gwyer further added: "Police officers have always been able to spot someone who they think is missing or wanted and stop them in the street.

"This technology doesn't replace traditional means of identifying people and officers only use it in instances where it is both necessary and proportionate to do so, with the aim of keeping that particular individual, or the wider public, safe."

What is operator initiated facial recognition?

South Wales Police says that OIFR is a mobile phone use of facial recognition technology (FRT), which compares a photograph of a person’s face, taken on a police issue mobile phone, to the predetermined image reference database to assist an officer to identify a person for a policing purpose.

Its website states: "Police officers may use the OIFR mobile app to confirm the identity of an unknown person who they suspect is missing, at imminent risk of serious harm or wanted, in circumstances when they’re unable to provide details, refuse to give details or provide false details.

"OIFR can also be used on a person who has died or is unconscious allowing officers to identify them so their family can be traced quickly.

"The OIFR is an overt policing tool. OIFR should be used after an engagement between the Officer and the unknown person has been attempted.

"Independent testing by the National Physical Laboratory found that OIFR achieved 100 per cent accuracy, always returning the correct match as the top result, for persons in the database.

"At the threshold settings we are using, if the person is not in the database, it will not return any results."