High risk Portsmouth criminals warned as live facial recognition vans set for action

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary will be one of seven forces across the country to host the vans, giving officers an additional tactic to reduce crime.

It follows a successful pilot last September where the technology was deployed in Portsmouth and other parts of Hampshire to help identify outstanding suspects for high risk and priority offences.

The new technology will also be used to help with searches for high risk missing people. The force will be working towards their first deployments later this year.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tim Rowlandson, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s force lead for this project, said: “We are really excited to have this technology here in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to help us target outstanding suspects and reduce crime.

“We know from the success of our pilot last September that giving our officers this additional tactic not only helps to quickly identify suspects, it also frees up their time to focus on responding to emergencies, spending time patrolling within their communities and investigating crime.

“Over those three days, we specifically targeted outstanding suspects and we made seven arrests and we know from those forces who have been using this technology for longer that the use of live facial recognition sees significant reductions in crime being committed in the areas where the vans are deployed.

“This is part of our commitment to ensure that our officers are equipped with the latest technological advances that policing has to offer, giving them the very best opportunity to keep the public safe, protect vulnerable people and bring offenders to justice for the benefit of everyone living and working within our communities.

“We’re now working on our plans for the first deployments and look forward to sharing those details in the coming months.”