More facial recognition cameras in city during rugby internationals

South Wales Police will be using “additional” live facial recognition cameras during Six Nations rugby matches this year.

A network of temporary cameras will be placed across the city centre covering “the main pedestrian entry points” in an effort to create “zones of safety”, according to the force

Officers will be looking for individuals who are wanted for committing crime, banned from an area or someone who poses a risk to the public on feeds from the cameras which will be transmitted to Live Facial Recognition vans.

The cameras look similar to CCTV cameras but do not record and in the event of no match, data is immediately and automatically deleted.

Assistant Chief Constable Trudi Meyrick said: “Our priority is to keep the public safe and this technology helps us achieve that.

“We understand the concerns which are raised about the use of facial recognition technology but it is important to remember that it has never resulted in a wrongful arrest and there have been no false alerts for several years as the technology and our understanding has evolved.”

According to South Wales Police, trial deployments of the technology have shown that it “does not discriminate on the grounds of gender, age or race”.

ACC Meyrick continued: “The level of oversight and independent scrutiny means that we are now in a stronger position than ever before to be able to demonstrate that our use of facial recognition technology is fair, legitimate, ethical and proportionate.”

The ‘Zones of Safety’ concept has been funded by the Home Office and if the trial is successful, the concept could be used at other major events and locations in South Wales.

Facial recognition was used several times in Cardiff last year, including at Taylor Swift and P!nk concerts.