#Breaking: #Shoplifters left red-faced after #MetPolice roll out ‘game changing’ technology

Britain’s biggest police force is to roll out the use of facial recognition technology to identify the most prolific shoplifters.

It follows a successful pilot in which the Metropolitan Police asked 12 retailers to provide images of 30 of the worst offenders who steal from their shops in a pilot of the new software.

They were compared against the force’s custody shots, and of 302 images submitted, 149 came up as positive matches.

The Met says retail crime is responsible for the loss of an estimated £1.9 billion in revenue in London each year and that more than 1,000 related cases of abuse and violence against shop staff are reported annually

The software uses biometric measures of a person’s face and works even if part of their face is covered. It takes around 60 seconds to find a match.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We’re working with shops across the capital to target and track down criminals in a way we never have before.

“We’re pushing the boundaries and using innovation and technology to rapidly identify criminals.

“The results we’ve seen so far are game-changing. The use of facial recognition in this way could revolutionise how we investigate and solve crime.”

Rowley also said that most of the prolific offenders have been involved in other, more serious criminal activity.

Read more https://www.gbnews.com/news/met-police-shoplifters-facial-recognition-technology